Written by Nina Rivera
Copyedited by Chloë Rain

Photo edited by Melike Ahsen Beleli

The Drawer by Vince Aletti displays a culmination of photographic memorabilia collected from newspaper clippings, museum and gallery advertisements, magazine spreads, and other miscellaneous sheets since the 1970s. For years, these vestiges resided in the drawer of an antique flat file living in Aletti’s New York East Village apartment, but have since been stunningly arranged in compositions and archived within the pages of The Drawer.

Before his accomplished work as a writer and curator for multiple publications, including The New Yorker and ArtForum, Aletti worked as the artistic editor and photography critic of Village Voice for almost 20 years and recorded the vibrant disco sensation occurring in New York during the ‘70s as a periodic column for Record World. As the decades have gone by, the amount of magazines and tearsheets in Aletti’s collection has grown exponentially and with it his worldview.

Photographed by Anushila Shaw, all 75 collages included in the book were instinctively constructed by Aletti to combine a range of images and ensure as much ingenuity as possible. These assemblages showcase fashion models beside big-time athletes, accompanied by Renaissance paintings or comic book strips. As viewers, we’re privy to artist obituaries that we’ve never known and vintage MoMA pages from shows long past. While drastically different in subject, his carefully harvested images share a vitality that is both erotic in nature and vulnerable. Here are pieces of stories that will never be fully remembered, yet have taken on new existences in the care of Aletti and his worldly drawer.

Looking at the full-page spreads in their entirety highlights photography’s substantial power, even when one is unaware of it. As modern society becomes more digitized with each passing moment, it’s the physicality of a printed image that defines a true sense of beauty. It’s inherently human to find connections amidst varied threads. Aletti has the distinct ability to present complex visual media as an expression of love and desire, shared and singular histories, and the way artistic mediums can influence a person’s entire being. This impact is intertwined with opposing impressions of femininity and masculinity in relation to “unconventional” expressions of sexuality.

Although arranged by Aletti, the spreads in The Drawer allow viewers to take in images as they see fit, creating a unique experience for those open to exploring their own connections and questioning the interactions between each photo featured. With such an array of information, this is not a book that can be fully understood after a single viewing. Each return reveals hidden details unnoticed before, thus creating a newly vivid narrative for those peeling the layers away from the collages. They are emotional and coruscating, emphasizing the importance of the printed photograph as a historical and societal artifact. Aletti has successfully transformed the idea of personal collections and our relationships with intricate imagery through his endless stacks of print.