He is known for his performances and photographs, which were germane in the development of the punk scene in Boston in the 1970s and the art world boom of the mid- to late 1980s in New York City.

where he made friends with several soon-to-be-well-known artists, including Nan Goldin,[2] David Armstrong,[2] Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Stephen Tashjian (aka Tabboo!, with whom he founded the drag duo "Clam Twins" at the Pyramid Club in NYC's East Village), Gail Thacker and Pat Hearn.

[citation needed] While attending, he performed as a drag character of his own creation, Sweet Raspberry, and co-founded a zine called Dirt Magazine with his friend Lynelle White, distributing it in Boston nightclubs.

Within his close circle of friends he soon laid claim to the "invention" of what are called "sandwich" prints—enlargements of double negatives of the same subject mounted on top of one another—which yielded an elaborate pictorial quality, producing a very iconic painterly impression in the final result, which over time he learned to use in an increasingly controlled way.

[citation needed] Early on, the artist recognized the intrinsic value of prints—irrespective of the medium used to produce them—as pictorial objects that he could manipulate, color, paint and write on at will.

He is considered a member of the Boston School of Photography and his work is found in many important collections including that of the Whitney and MOCA of Los Angeles.