NEW YORK CITY — Circus of Books has been immortalized with an art exhibition and a new documentary. The legendary bookstore and brick-and-mortar retail outlet holds a seminal position in the history of adult entertainment in Los Angeles.
In 1960, Karen and Barry Mason opened Circus of Books, famously perched at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and La Jolla Avenue in West Hollywood, and doggedly kept the location open throughout four decades of rapid economic and social change, particularly as West Hollywood became a mecca for the LGBT community, as well as during the devastating HIV/AIDS epidemic, and into the 21st-Century as adult industry print media faded in favor of tube sites and hookup apps.
"Before the web, pornography was primarily accessed and often experienced in public, communal spaces,” Lucas Hilderbrand, a professor of film and media studies at the University of California, Irvine, told LGBT media outlet NewNowNext. “Circus of Books was a significant site for these ephemeral experiences of queer [predominantly male] sexuality. Even the parking lot was so cruisy, it was christened ‘Vaseline Alley.'"
Circus of Books became an unlikely battleground for First Amendment rights under President George H.W. Bush. “An employee shipped a box of straight and gay porn tapes to a customer in rural Pennsylvania,” notes NewNowNext. “The sale turned out to be a sting, though, and the Masons were indicted on federal charges of transporting obscene materials across state lines. After years of litigation, they agreed to a pretrial diversion program and a $20,000 fine."
Earlier this year, the Masons elected to close Circus of Books and retire. Karen and Barry’s daughter, Rachel, has revived its legacy with a new documentary and an art exhibition currently running at the Fierman Gallery in New York.
"I think we are all starved for spaces of human connection and community — in the art world or the larger queer community,” said gallery owner David Fierman. “The gallery — with this exhibition in particular — is an attempt to fill that void as a meeting space, in homage to what Circus of Books did in L.A. It’s now about both keeping a history alive and building community for the future."
"Everyone should know their story," tweeted Hustler. "Thank you, Karen and Barry Mason, for all that you have done for the LGBTQ community, [West Hollywood and] the industry. Wishing you both years of happiness, good health and much-needed rest."
The exhibition is scheduled to run through May 6; visit the Fierman Gallery website for additional details.
Rachel Mason’s documentary, also titled “Circus of Books,” premieres later this month at the Tribeca Film Festival with screenings set for April 26, 27 and 28.
The “intimate and probing documentary… explores the contradictions of growing up in an unconventional household where her mom could be found volunteering at her synagogue or re-stocking issues of Hand Job Magazine,” notes the festival summary of the film. “It's an honest and engaging portrait of the legendary X-rated emporium and its unlikely proprietors.”
Follow the Tribeca Film Festival online and on Twitter. Find the film on Twitter here.
Although Circus of Books is gone, its legacy as a community meeting place and brick-and-mortar retail outlet will continue. In February, Chi Chi LaRue’s, an XBIZ Awards nominee for Boutique Retailer of the Year, announced it will open a second West Hollywood outlet in the space, called Chi Chi LaRue’s Circus.
