Peter Berlin (born Armin Hagen Freiherr von Hoyningen-Huene) is a photographer, artist, filmmaker, clothing designer, model, and gay icon. Berlin started taking self-portraits of himself in the 1970s. By modifying his clothes, choosing various props and settings, and sometimes using double-exposure to create a second image, Berlin would photograph himself in ways that create a hyper-sexualized, overtly masculine image.
These iconic images made him an instantly recognizable icon within the gay community. Even after being photographed by the likes of Robert Mapplethorpe, Berlin preferred the images he captured of himself, saying, "Yes, it's a Mapplethorpe, but still I felt my best when I made my own pictures." Berlin's works have been exhibited worldwide, including the exhibition Split/Vision at Artists Space, New York, NY (1986), and Berlin on Berlin at the Leslie Lohman Gallery, New York, NY (2006). His two films, Nights in Black Leather (1973) and That Boy (1974), revolutionized homoerotic film by bringing gay male erotic films artistic legitimacy.
He was named the 2015 Tom of Finland Foundation Cultural Icon and in 2021, he participated in Tom of Finland Foundation’s charitable auction Sexology 101. He is the subject of the book Peter Berlin: Icon, Artist, Photosexual (published by Damiani, 2019). Although he retreated from the limelight in the 1980s, he continues to make videos of himself. Berlin lives and works in San Francisco, CA.
