🌈Queer Art History Unit 5 – Queer Visual Culture: Photography

Key Concepts and Terminology

• Queer used as an inclusive term encompassing LGBTQIA+ identities and experiences
• Gaze refers to the perspective and power dynamics in the act of looking (male gaze, queer gaze)
• Performativity involves the construction and expression of gender and sexual identities through actions and behaviors
• Camp is an aesthetic style characterized by exaggeration, artifice, and humor often associated with queer culture
• Intersectionality considers the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender in relation to discrimination and oppression
• Heteronormativity assumes heterosexuality as the default or "normal" sexual orientation
• Homonormativity describes the privileging of certain queer identities and relationships that conform to heteronormative standards
• Disidentification is a strategy employed by marginalized individuals to resist dominant ideologies while simultaneously working within them

Historical Context of Queer Photography

• Early 20th century saw the emergence of queer subcultures in urban centers (Berlin, Paris, New York)
• Criminalization and stigmatization of homosexuality forced many queer individuals to live closeted lives
• World War II disrupted traditional gender roles and allowed for increased same-sex intimacy and exploration
• Post-war era marked by a return to conservative values and increased persecution of LGBTQIA+ individuals (McCarthyism, lavender scare)
• Stonewall Riots of 1969 catalyzed the modern gay liberation movement and sparked a new era of queer visibility and activism
• AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s devastated queer communities and prompted a renewed sense of urgency in queer art and activism
• Increasing legal recognition and social acceptance of LGBTQIA+ rights in the late 20th and early 21st centuries

Pioneering Queer Photographers

• Baron Wilhelm von Gloeden captured homoerotic images of young Sicilian men in the late 19th century
• Claude Cahun challenged traditional gender norms through self-portraiture in the 1920s and 1930s
  • Collaborated with Marcel Moore to create subversive and androgynous images
• Robert Mapplethorpe's controversial photographs celebrated the male body and BDSM subcultures in the 1970s and 1980s
  • Faced obscenity charges for his explicit and homoerotic content
• Nan Goldin documented the intimate lives of her queer friends and community in New York City's Lower East Side
  • "The Ballad of Sexual Dependency" is a seminal work of autobiographical photography
• Peter Hujar captured raw and vulnerable portraits of the queer community during the AIDS crisis
• Rotimi Fani-Kayode explored the intersection of race, sexuality, and spirituality in his photographs before his untimely death from AIDS in 1989
• Catherine Opie's portraits of the queer community challenge stereotypes and celebrate diversity

Themes and Subjects in Queer Photography

• Visibility and representation of LGBTQIA+ identities and experiences
• Celebration of queer desire, love, and intimacy
• Exploration of gender fluidity, androgyny, and non-binary identities
• Documentation of queer subcultures and communities (ballroom scene, leather scene)
• Confrontation of societal norms and expectations surrounding gender and sexuality
• Intersection of queer identity with other marginalized identities (race, class, disability)
• Activism and resistance against oppression and discrimination
• Mourning and memorialization during the AIDS crisis

Techniques and Styles in Queer Visual Culture

• Self-portraiture as a means of self-expression and identity exploration
• Appropriation and subversion of heteronormative imagery and symbols
• Use of camp aesthetics to challenge and critique mainstream culture
• Embrace of the erotic and explicit as a form of liberation and resistance
• Collage and montage to create new narratives and meanings
• Blurring of boundaries between art and documentation, public and private
• Incorporation of text and language to convey political and personal messages
• Collaboration and community-building through shared artistic practices

Representation and Identity Politics

• Importance of self-representation and agency in queer art and photography
• Challenging dominant narratives and stereotypes surrounding queer identities
• Intersection of queer identity with other marginalized identities (race, class, disability)
  • Acknowledgment of the unique experiences and challenges faced by queer people of color, working-class queer individuals, and queer people with disabilities
• Debates surrounding the politics of visibility and the risks of co-optation and commodification
• Role of queer art in shaping public perceptions and attitudes towards LGBTQIA+ individuals
• Responsibility of queer artists to their communities and to social and political causes
• Potential for queer art to create space for dialogue, empathy, and understanding

Impact on Mainstream Art and Culture

• Influence of queer aesthetics and sensibilities on fashion, music, and popular culture
• Mainstreaming of queer representation in advertising, media, and entertainment
• Appropriation and commodification of queer culture by mainstream institutions and corporations
• Contributions of queer artists to the broader art historical canon
• Role of queer art in challenging and expanding traditional notions of beauty, desire, and identity
• Importance of queer art spaces and institutions in fostering community and creativity
• Ongoing marginalization and underrepresentation of queer artists in mainstream art world

Contemporary Queer Photography

• Continued exploration of queer identities and experiences through diverse photographic practices
• Emphasis on intersectionality and the experiences of marginalized queer communities
• Engagement with digital technologies and social media as tools for self-expression and community-building
• Renewed interest in the archive and the preservation of queer histories and memories
• Exploration of queer futurity and the imagining of alternative worlds and possibilities
• Collaboration and collective action as strategies for resistance and empowerment
• Ongoing challenges of visibility, representation, and access in the art world and beyond
• Importance of supporting and amplifying the voices of emerging queer photographers and artists