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"A visually stunning, landmark photography book of transgender New Yorkers, complete with thought-provoking and revealing interviews that honor the transgender community and the courage it takes to find oneself and defy societal norms."--Provided by publisher.
About the author
Peter Bussian is an award-winning documentary photographer, filmmaker, and creative consultant who has spent more than twenty years working in developing countries for organizations such as the United Nations, the United States Agency for International Development, the Department for International Development (UK), and nongovernmental organizations. Since 2001, he has spent the equivalent of nearly five years in Afghanistan, traveling there over a fifteen-year period, and he has worked in other post-conflict countries in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa, often collaborating with local artists and media creators. His photographs have been published by the
New York Times,
Los Angeles Times,
Condé Nast Traveler, O, The Oprah Magazine, Paris Match,
El Palacio, and elsewhere, and exhibited in domestic and international galleries. Bussian has also created documentary films and written narrative screenplays. His photography book
Passage to Afghanistan was published in 2016. Bussian spent most of his childhood in Colorado and has lived in New York City for the past twenty-five years.
Abby Stein is an educator, speaker, and trans activist. She was raised male in a Hasidic community in Brooklyn, New York, and her family is a direct descendent of Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism. In her Hasidic community, she attended Yeshiva, completing a rabbinical degree in 2011. In 2012, she left the Hasidic world to explore different worldviews, and in 2015 she came out as a woman of trans experience. Since coming out, she’s been working to raise awareness and support people going through a similar experience. Her story has been covered by the
New York Times,
New York Post,
New York magazine,
Jewish Daily Forward, Daily Mail, NBC, and many other outlets, and she’s appeared on media such as Fox News, CNN, HuffPost Live, and ShowTime. She’s also the author of
Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman. In 2016 Stein was named by the Jewish Week as one of the “36 Under 36” young Jews who are affecting change in the world. She is currently a student at Columbia University, studying women’s and gender studies and political science. She lives in New York, NY.
Summary
A visually stunning, landmark photography book of transgender New Yorkers, complete with thought-provoking and revealing interviews that honor the transgender community and the courage it takes to find oneself and defy societal norms.
Additional text
“If a picture says a thousand words, fifty pictures of trans people along with their written experiences tell a story in a uniquely hopeful way, asking readers to see the humanity and complexity of the trans community and all of the different people within it.”
—Publishers Weekly
“An award-winning photographer best known for his work in conflict zones has turned his lens on New York’s transgender community with stunning results.”
—The Article
“Trans New York is an astonishing book that balances the extraordinary and the ordinary to create something close to truth. Bussian's photographs are elegant and beautiful in their normality, often sitting at odds with the brutal realities of life as told by New York's trans community. A fine and mature piece of work.”
—Andrea Busfield, Journalist and Author of Born Under a Million Shadows
“Peter Bussian's photographs are subtle, respectful, interesting, and arresting, which make for an important book at an important time.”
—Jack Parsons, Photographer
“Peter's book is a celebration of life where the images are speaking a valid and understandable language. The subjects are as beautiful, comfortable, or awkward as others breathing the same air and experiencing the same sunlight and darkness. Their unique stories transmit value and transcend societal barriers across the world.”
—Jamal Shah, Actor and Director General of the Pakistan National Council of the Arts
“Peter Bussian's book is beautiful. New York City in all its grit, glamour, and uniqueness serves as a perfect backdrop in the telling of the remarkable stories of the proud, brave, beautiful trans community Mr. Bussian profiles. Each person's story is totally singular in the telling and photography. I came away with a greater understanding of and respect for all of these beautiful souls who are living their truth, and a real yearning for the city they call home.”
—Arianna Zukerman, Opera Singer and Educator
“An extraordinary visual essay on love, courage, and finding oneself.”
—Raynbow Affair Magazine
“Trans New York is a beautiful depiction of the trans individuals and community that make up the city. Photographed all over New York and set to backdrops that range from iconic landmarks to private spaces to lesser-known city blocks, the settings are as beautiful, interesting, and varied as the subjects themselves. Just as New York is not only one thing, not just the empire state building, nor only Flushing, Queens, or Williamsburg, Brooklyn, not just SoHo or Central Park, this book deftly and elegantly displays the trans community in all their divergent beauty.”
—Alyssa Blumstein, photographer of People of the Pride Parade
“What’s striking are the photos themselves; both in their beauty and how ‘normal’ the portraits are.”
—Palo Alto Weekly“I learned so much from reading this book and I recommend this book to everybody.”
—Stacy White, The Etiquette Show
