‘Faggot’ Rare Booklet by Michael Alago, New York 2010
VERY Rare Out of Print ‘Hand Manufactured’ Booklet/Zine entitled ‘FAGGOT’ First Edition 57/100.
Signed by the photographer. Printed within: “Faggot, First Edition 57/100. Images of Robert were taken in New York City, May 2010. Photographs by Michael Alago. Published by Scattterbrain Press 2010. Thanks Robert for being sweet, handsome and so damn sexy! You’re the best! Special thanks to Skylar Fein and the “Remember the Upstairs Lounge” insatallation”.
Booklet measures 10 x 8 inches. 12 pages / each page is shown online. MINT condition.
This publication is no longer available. It was a gift from the photographer when he photographed me, or rather, my tattooed hands.
Asking USD$225.
Michael Anthony Alago
Even Gods Dream
“I have loved photographs as far back as I can remember. I always wanted to look at family albums and see what stories were being told through the mostly black and white images. As I got older I started to carry around a Kodak 110 plastic camera and later a Polaroid camera. I took pictures of everything from rock and roll to erotic images of my ‘one night stands’ .. Later on after quitting the music business, where I was a producer for many years, I devoted my time to shooting images of my favorite subject…men! I would shoot with my trusty Polaroid and later digital cameras and now with the iPhone and Hipstamatic app as well. My images are strong and not glossy in any way whatsoever. I think they are straightforward rugged and erotically charged. I loves muscles and scars and tattoos and that’s my focus when looking for a man to shoot.”
Michael Anthony Alago, a seminal producer and talent scout for nearly 20 years, has become a household name in the music industry for his expertise in a variety of musical genres. In addition to discovering Metallica, Alago has accumulated a roster that includes such diverse artists as Michael Feinstein, Johnny Rotten, White Zombie, and Nina Simone. “Recording with the incomparable Nina was my finest hour,” says Michael, who worked with Simone on her final album, the critically acclaimed “A Single Woman.” 2010 saw Alago team up with Cyndi Lauper on her Grammy-nominated album “Memphis Blues,” for which he served as A&R executive.
Alago left the music business in the summer of 2003 to concentrate on another lifelong passion—photography. Working initially with a Polaroid camera, Michael embarked on a series of stark, erotic male portraits—a series that continues to this day. While these images of friends, models and bodybuilders feature the muscular physique, tattoos, and attitude that define this particular male subset, they also bear Alago’s distinctive stamp of irreverent heat. A collection of his work entitled “Rough Gods” was self-published to great acclaim in 2005, which led international publisher Bruno Gmunder to sign Michael up and to publish his coffee-table books, “Brutal Truth” and “Beautiful Imperfections”. Most recently, Michael collaborated with “Life of Agony” singer Mina Caputo on a book of poems, observations and rants called “Night Blooming Jasmine Will Never Smell The Same,” which was published in the fall of 2010.
Alago has exhibited in New York, Paris, Berlin, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Montreal, and Toronto, and continues to photograph rough gods wherever he may find them.
In 2015 there is documentary being made about Michael called “WHO THE F**K IS THAT GUY?, The Fabulous Journey of Michael Alago.” The film speaks of his 24 years in music with all the ups and downs of a music executive as well his battles with addiction, HIV and his recovery and reinvention as a published photographer. A fascinating and cautionary tale.
PRESS:
Former Music Executive MICHAEL ALAGO Talks Signing METALLICA, Working with NINA SIMONE and Much More: “I Knew METALLICA Were Going to Be Huge Since The Very Beginning”
https://shopburb.com/blogs/lightculture/episode-39-michael-alago
https://www.out.com/entertainment/popnography/2012/04/04/catching-rough-gods-michael-alago
http://www.artmarketprovincetown.com/art/20150814/