The SPERM Party, 2008 - 2010
SPERM was New York City’s longest-running queer Nightclub party from 1998 to 2013 at the Cock Bar NYC. Man Parrish and his crew would completely transform the space for each SPERM party, staging ever-changing environmental installations and live performances. I was invited to SPERM in 2008 by one of the Gogo dancers there. When I stepped into the party for the first time, I felt immediately welcomed by the creator and host of the SPERM party, Man Parrish, and we bonded instantly. I had no idea that I had just met the “GodFather Of Electronic Music”, read more. I loved the free, raunchy, and playful atmosphere of the party. It wasn’t called SPERM for nothing, and felt compelled to record what was happening around me while having fun myself. Camera phones existed but weren’t omnipresent yet. Because Manny trusted me, I was allowed to photograph anything and everyone at the party - a complete no-no for anyone else. The dancers, strippers, and patrons didn’t seem to care about me snapping away - they rather enjoyed it. I went back a few more times over the following years and was able to capture the free, sexy spirit that permeated New York’s underground nightlife at that time.
Listen to Man Parrish talk about the SPERM parties.
SPERM. Installation, 2021
In May 2021, Man Parrish and Eva Mueller temporarily recreated the infamous and iconic SPERM party in the hidden basement of the Art Club in Brooklyn, New York, curated by Joseph Latimore. Parrish laid out a narrow-pathed maze with the party's signature black construction-site plastic sheeting, through which the visitor must file to reach the inner sanctum. The winding corridor to the main space features 3'x5' vinyl sheets with Mueller's explicit photographs of the original party, cut in strips, so one has to pass through carwash-like curtains of butts, crotches, and cocks. On the way, seductive and hilariously annoying voices, recorded by Parrish and Mueller, try to sidetrack the visitor into a dark corner. As one continues, the music, a 6-hour set mixed by Parrish, gets louder with each step. Parrish and Mueller deliberately made the long path to "The Party" disorienting, with flickering red light bulbs, soundscapes, music, popper bottles strewn on the floor, and the graphic curtains one has to push through.
Spinning disco balls and glow-in-the-dark spray-painted profanities greet the visitors in the center area. Many of the words are homophobic slurs that are being boldly reclaimed here.
The main space doubles as a dance floor and cruising area, and during the opening and closing parties, activated with bartenders, gogo-boys, and strippers. SPERM is a visceral, physical experience that takes its visitors back to the sexually charged, free-spirited energy of the original party.
Read Elaine Rita Mendus’ alluring essay about her visit here .
Installation View
The SPERM Experience
Artist Book “SPERM.”, 2021
SPERM was New York City's longest-running queer underground party at The Cock Bar in the East Village. Even though cameras were verboten there, Eva Mueller managed to capture the raw hot eroticism and primal energy of SPERM. through the lens of an active participant. These images have now become archival documentation of a significant part of the history of New York City's gay nightlife culture.
SPERM., the book, features 90 never before seen photographs Mueller took between 2008-2010. The dimensions of the soft-bound book are 7" x 9" with a total of 38 pages. It comes with a unique zine “The Sperm Reporter”, exclusively written and designed by Man Parrish.
The book/zine package retails for $60 and is available from the artist directly. Order here.
