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Lewkowicz: It wasn't started with an idea. It was actually pretty spontaneous; I saw this one picture and I sent it to Ariel. Then we started exchanging more and more pictures and wherever we went, we found a gallery of photos that we just couldn't keep to ourselves. It was just too outrageous. We had a lot of fun making this blog, and then it started rolling over the internet and getting more and more pictures.When did it become so popular?
Ashbel: Only a few days ago. Before it was just friends of ours who would send it to friends of theirs, and we just got pictures that way. I think someone on Twitter found it. I believe it was related to International Holocaust Day. It's quite old, though. It's really old news.
Lewkowicz: When it reached the mainstream media and the backlash came, Grindr changed their stance on the site.
Ashbel: There's a righteous backlash not only from mainstream sources, but the gay community as well.
Lewkowicz: I think it's really bullshit. I don't see it.
Ashbel: I don't think the pictures are problematic. It's a prudish approach to assume that anything that has to do with sex is immediately disrespectful or obscene. I just think it's really sad that people are so old-fashioned.

Lewkowicz: I don’t think there is one clear answer. For most it's probably really random. I think people are trying to make deep connections that aren't really there. Gays go to Berlin because it has lots of other gays and clubs. They spend six days in the clubs, and on the seventh they go sightseeing. They are on vacation, so they go to the Memorial and take loads of pictures. Here they have a neutral background, so they take their shirts off and start posing. I'm not sure why.
Ashbel: We aren't trying to explain it; we're just seeing the thing for what it is and putting it out there.
Lewkowicz: I just think it's awesome that people are doing whatever they want with the city. That's what the city is about. The whole idea of public space is that you make it your own somehow, and the gay community is judging what is proper and what is not. I don't think that's too cool. It’s way too disciplinary.
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Ashbel: Wherever we went. Berlin, London, Tel Aviv, Paris, Belgium… all over the place.What do you think of Marc Adelman’s work? He’s an artist who compiled similar profile pictures from the cruising site Gay Romeo.
Ashbel: We saw it only afterward, when we noticed he ripped off all of our pictures.
Lewkowicz: We think he's a douchebag. Not only did he rip us off and take our pictures, he totally capitalizes on that. We're not getting any money out of it—we don't care. This guy just wanted to become this boring international artist. His premise was totally boring.What was his premise?
Ashbel: I don't remember, but it was ridiculous. It was something about gays and death and how they're always associated with death because of the AIDS epidemic.Do you think people use the memorial as a backdrop for cruising pictures because it's aesthetically pleasing?
Ashbel: I don't know if you've been, but it has a very cruise-y feel to it.
Lewkowicz: Some people think that. I have a friend who has been sending a lot of pictures, and he thinks that there is very good lighting at the memorial—he believes it is flattering to the face. However, when he talked to people who took their pictures there, for them it was about commemoration.

Lewkowicz: There is one where the irony is really strong. He writes in his profile, "No Asians,” which is kind of unbelievable to me.Do you think people will stop using their pictures from the memorial on Grindr now that there has been a public backlash?
Ashbel: Well, I hope not. Maybe it will be the opposite—maybe more people will do it. They might want to be famous and be on the famous blog.
Lewkowicz: I think it’s going to be an interesting experiment. What is stronger: social shame, or the need for publicity?Previously - How to Suck an Uncut Cock@BrianJMoylan
