Retrospeculation: Tom Burr's 42^nd Street Structures.

The article examines the transformation of Times Square under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's administration, particularly focusing on the crackdown on adult entertainment businesses and the subsequent gentrification of the area. Giuliani's policies aimed to eliminate sexual businesses through restrictive zoning laws, which led to the displacement of queer spaces and the creation of a sanitized, corporate-friendly environment. The article highlights the artistic responses to this transformation, particularly through Tom Burr's exhibition "42nd Street Structures," which critiques the commodification and institutionalization of queer culture. Burr's work reflects on the loss of queer spaces and the ways in which their histories are repackaged within the art world, ultimately questioning the implications of such memorialization for queer identity and community. [Extracted from the article]