Newly Published Portras Document a Century of Gay Men's Relatnships | Smart News | Smhsonian Magaze

Contents:

• NEWLY PUBLISHED PORTRAS DOCUMENT A CENTURY OF GAY MEN LOVE
• GAY MEN POSTERS AND ART PRTS
• THE GAY FIGURE ARTISTS ARE REIMAGG THE MALE GAZE
• GAY HSAR ART: GRAN WHO STCK A POSE FOR A EE LUNCH
• ‘A FAY LIKE OURS’: PORTRAS OF GAY FATHERHOOD

NEWLY PUBLISHED PORTRAS DOCUMENT A CENTURY OF GAY MEN LOVE

Vcent Keh of MASCULAR Stud and Oliver Zke of Photomolekuel are pleased to announce the lnch of A Portra Isolatn, a project explorg emotnal and physil space the end of March 2020, as the COVID-19 global panmic grew spe and impact, gay men around the world were asked to subm self portras that reflected their experience of the ronavis lock-down.

The ia behd the llectn was to show that gay men are affected by the crisis a siar way to everyone else but more so.

Livg liv which are often agmented between nventnal work ndns and their private liv leav many gay men whout the tradnal support mechanisms of heterosexuals and this shows through the separated by geography, culture and age, the men the imag all share fears for the future, lonels, job secury, and separatn. MASCULAR is a London-based stud tablished by Vcent Keh that explor elements of gay and male inty through photography. The first terpretatn of the Ganyme tale is born om the homosexual relatns that were acknowledged some ancient Greek stat.

GAY MEN POSTERS AND ART PRTS

The relatnships were not what we would today ll homosexual.

Even as they emphasised the Christian msage of this scene, homosexual artists of the Renaissance were not bld to the more obv meang of the Ganyme myth. Some patrons may have requted a versn of the Ganyme myth as an exprsn of their homosexual sir. In poetry, plays, and even mon parlance, Ganyme me to stand for both paedophilic and homosexual tast.

Homosexualy the morn sense was only named and acknowledged the late neteenth century. While many homosexual men had to rema gey about their love, there were some outspoken artists who were relatively open about their sir.

THE GAY FIGURE ARTISTS ARE REIMAGG THE MALE GAZE

Today his works, cludg a patg of Ganyme before he is rried off, are some of the few ma by a homosexual artist that explore the psychology of gay men. Dpe the ubiquy of Ganyme wtern art, his populary fell away the late neteenth century favour of another symbol for homosexual love. It may be that openly displayg a work of Ganyme, wh all of s illic homosexual unrton, would too openly 'out' a llector as a Ganyme himself.

GAY HSAR ART: GRAN WHO STCK A POSE FOR A EE LUNCH

For homosexual Grand Tourists, Anto proved irristible. In one of the most famo portras of Wckelmann, the great art historian and homosexual n be seen proudly examg an engravg of a statue of Anto.

By the late neteenth century, Anto had e to replace Ganyme as the in of choice for gay art llectors. Yet the stori of the two gay ins ntued to speak to gay men.

‘A FAY LIKE OURS’: PORTRAS OF GAY FATHERHOOD

It is no wonr the stori of Anto and Ganyme spoke strongly to gay men tim when their love was illegal. In the 'Gay Corner' of the Congrsnal Cemetery Washgton, you will fd the name of Anto scribed on an obelisk unr the shady branch of a cherry tree. The imag are often ma rponse to and nversatn wh historil artworks and referenc such as the vanas motif, relig patgs, and inic gay artists who shaped my unrstandg of queer self-reprentatn, like Pedro Lemebel, David Wojnarowicz, and Robert Mapplethorpe.

Fortunately, alternative events to the official gay Pri are now available: ralli, march, and parti that rever the urgency, ant, and cril spir that our social polics need and serve.

“Lovg” featur around 300 photos that offer an timate look at gay relatnships between the 1850s and 1950s.