There are photographers who make pictures, and there are photographers who find themselves at the center of a cultural moment. During the 1980s and ’90s, Paula Gately Tillman documented the vibrant underground scenes of New York and Atlanta, creating unforgettable portraits of artists, musicians, drag performers, and cultural provocateurs. Her subjects included RuPaul, Tish and Snooky Bellomo, the visionary sisters behind Manic Panic, and countless other creative icons she met after a chance encounter with Brant Mewborn, then senior editor at Rolling Stone, opened the door to an extraordinary community. Her photographs capture a singular moment in American cultural history with warmth, curiosity, and an unmistakable sense of intimacy.
This spring, the Baltimore Museum of Art Sculpture Garden became the setting for a celebration worthy of that remarkable career as friends, family, artists, photographers, curators, and admirers gathered to mark Tillman’s 80th birthday. Among the guests were curator George Ciscle, illustrator Kristin Tata, Cara Ober of BmoreArt, artist and educator Dave Eassa, photographers Jim Burger, JM Giordano, E. Brady Robinson, and Phillis Berger, Ruth Shaw owners Ray Mitchener and Brian Comes, and many others from Baltimore’s creative community. It was a joyful reunion, bringing together longtime friends and new admirers to celebrate a photographer whose work continues to inspire across generations.
The evening also provided the perfect debut for BmoreArt’s new style column, titled SEEN, where photographer E. Brady Robinson turns her lens toward the crowd, capturing colorful prints, vintage ensembles, original designs, bold footwear, impeccable tailoring, and the effortless originality that artists bring to getting dressed.
Welcome to SEEN, celebrating the fashion, personalities, and creative communities that gather wherever art happens.
