October 16, 2020 | By Bob Devin Jones
The “Mt Rushmore-atization” of the Gay Cowboys
Blake Little’s Photography
Through February 14
The James Museum
jamesmuseum.org/blakelittle
. . .
Well, it’s about time
There are several stunning moments in the beautifully mounted exhibition of Blake Little’s photography at The James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art
Blake’s photographs haunt as well as delight
candid photographs that educate as well as memorialize
and photographs that celebrate, oh yes… they celebrate
Blake’s photographs chronicle some very fascinating and joyous Americans
mostly men, many of whom were friends
His images capture these men at the rodeo, bull riding, roping and posing
and who also happen to be gay…
Gay Cowboys
Black and White photography
has the uncanny and beguiling ability
to evoke profound human emotions
joy, menace, hurt, harm or danger… loss
. . .
Blake Little knows this
even before I read the legend of one photograph
“Los Angeles Cowboys, Hollywood California, 1990″
I half suspected most of the 14 Cowboys captured in the photograph might be deceased
I was correct
I was reminded of the bedlam of AIDS
the indiscriminate appetite of the epidemic
14 rodeo apostles posing for a snap, no, it is not the last supper, literally… but it might as well be
as it will be for some of these Gay Cowboys
the unflinching narrative of Blake Little’s black and white photography, gives us a seat at the table…
intimate and necessary
the moments are emphatic and prescient
. . .
. . .
for example the photograph
“Frank Andrade, Phoenix Arizona, 1989 “
has an inescapable melancholy hush
the beauty of the subject and Andrade’s laconic straight forward stance, weight slightly shifted to his right hip
brings to mind Saint Sebastian (minus the arrows) and
Montgomery Clift in the Western, Red River
so full of promise… inevitably not to be realized
well, this is where the viewer and the photographer catch their breath
Frank Andrade, also deceased… Lives!
it is photojournalistic master stroke from Blake Little
. . .
. . .
and a moment of profound introspection for this viewer…
ah yes, “Only the good (and beautiful ) die young,” rarely, however do we know this in the moment
Blake captures this “not knowing moment” like a shaman
A shaman who becomes a Gay Cowboy
there is a self portrait of Blake Little at the Bull Riding Championships
“Blake Little, Phoenix Arizona, 1990”
it is an image of man who has found his calling and a calling who has found its man
Blake full of exuberance (in the chute) surrounded by the tackle of his passion
the chaps
the white cowboy hat
the corralled bulls
and the deliciously gaudy championship belt buckle he was just awarded
at The James Museum, there is a lucite vitrine with over a dozen of these coveted trophies
. . .
. . .
“Bareback Bronc Riding, San Diego, California 1992”
the cowboy and horse are fused in an exclamation point of compelling and competing wills
the rider has just one job, stay on the horse (and get the silver gold rimmed buckle)!
the horse has another… expel, propel, expiate, buck, this rider to some otherwhere
Blake Little’s photograph captures that liminal moment of “anything can happen”
that the narrative can be rewritten (in the bull ring) far quicker than an instant
it is an iconic and thrilling picture
. . .
. . .
“Rodeo Bullfighter with His Children, Fort Worth, Texas 1989”
the photograph is a charming and intimate portrait of one aspect of life at the rodeo… the Gay Rodeo
we see a cowboy/bullfighter (possibly gay) self administering clown face makeup
similar to the pattern on his two children, who are arrayed on the step of his SUV
father is engrossed with his image in the mirror, precariously balanced on his knee
while the young girl and boy passively look directly at us there is an ever so slight
smile/grimace on the face of the boy
Even if the moms don’t let their boys “grow up to be cowboys”
there is always room for a few good photographers
and at The James Museum for the Gay Cowboy exhibition
we have on view the work of a very excellent gay cowboy photographer indeed!
– – –
Developed at the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis, Indiana, this collection of 41 black and white images explores the diverse and complex nature of individual and community identity in Western rural culture.
Taken between 1988 and 1992 at events from Oklahoma to California, the collected body of images combines the action of riding, roping and chute dogging with intimate views into the lives of rodeo participants, examining themes of competition and community and inviting an expansive redefinition of cowboy identities.
. . .
Through February 14 at
The James Museum
. . .
Explore Blake Little’s work at
blakelittle.com
