Masculinities: Photography and Film from the 1960s to Now: Liberation through Photography

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Hierarchy Across many cultures throughout history, and continuing into the present moment throughout large parts of the world, gender functions as a hierarchy: some gender categories and gender expressions are granted higher value and more power than others. Men are often higher up the gender hierarchy than women, but the gender hierarchy is affected by racism, disablism, ageism, transphobia and other factors; in the West, men in their thirties are likely to be considered higher up the gender hierarchy than men in their eighties, for example. A major group exhibition opened up at the Barbican Art Gallery. The show explores how masculinity is experienced, performed, coded and socially constructed as expressed and documented through photography and film from the 1960s to the present day. Daniel Regan is a photographic artist whose work focuses on complex emotional experiences, often using his own lived experience of mental health difficulties as the stimulus. He’s interested in how we use photography as a way to process life’s experiences and can find a deeper understanding of who we are through photographs. Bas Jan Ader (1945-1975), Laurie Anderson (1947), Kenneth Anger (1927), Knut Åsdam (1968), Richard Avedon (1923-2004), Aneta Bartos, Richard Billingham (1970), Cassils (1975), Sam Contis (1982), John Coplans (1920-2003), Rineke Dijkstra (1959), George Dureau (1930-2014), Thomas Dworzak (1972), Hans Eijkelboom (1949), Fouad Elkoury (1952), Rotimi Fani-Kayode (1955-1989), Hal Fischer (1950), Samuel Fosso (1962), Anna Fox (1961), Masahisa Fukase (1934-2012), Sunil Gupta (1953), Peter Hujar (1934-1987), Liz Johnson Artur (1964), Isaac Julien (1960), Kiluanji Kia Henda (1979), Karen Knorr (1954), Deana Lawson (1979), Hilary Lloyd (1964), Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989), Peter Marlow (1952-2016), Ana Mendieta (1948-1985), Annette Messager (1943), Duane Michals (1932), Tracey Moffatt (1960), Andrew Moisey (1979), Richard Mosse (1980), Adi Nes (1966), Catherine Opie (1961), Elle Pérez (1989), Herb Ritts (1952-2002), Kalen Na’il Roach (1992), Collier Schorr (1963), Paul Mpagi Sepuya (1982), Clare Strand (1973), Mikhael Subotzky (1981), Larry Sultan (1946-2009), Hank Willis Thomas (1976), Wolfgang Tillmans (1968), Piotr Uklański (1968), Karlheinz Weinberger (1921-2006), Marianne Wex (1937-2020), David Wojnarowicz (1954-1992), Akram Zaatari (1966). Clear a bit of space and make sure that you can be by yourself and move safely for 15 minutes without being interrupted. Maybe close the door and/or put the phone aside. Make this practice work for you – if you need to adapt or transform something please do it, making sure you take from it the most you can. There is no right or wrong way, only your own fun way; last thing, be loving and caring mentally and physically, don’t hurt yourself.

Elias Williams is a filmmaker and founder of online media platform, mandemhood.com. He recently graduated with an MA in History from the University of Bristol and his film projects often explore untold histories. Elias’ work for MANDEM comprises providing a space for young men of colour to express themselves through writing, film and music, and has also included hosting panel-led discussions about topical issues around race, class and gender. In the wake of #MeToo the image of masculinity has come into sharper focus, with ideas of toxic and fragile masculinity permeating today’s society. This exhibition charts the often complex and sometimes contradictory representations of masculinities, and how they have developed and evolved over time. Touching on themes including power, patriarchy, queer identity, female perceptions of men, hypermasculine stereotypes, tenderness and the family, the exhibition shows how central photography and film have been to the way masculinities are imagined and understood in contemporary culture. WatchJane Alison, Head of Visual Arts, Barbican, said: ‘ Masculinities: Liberation through Photography continues our commitment to presenting leading twentieth century figures in the field of photography while also supporting younger contemporary artists working in the medium today. In the wake of the #MeToo movement and the resurgence of feminist and men’s rights activism, traditional notions of masculinity has become a subject of fierce debate. This exhibition could not be more relevant and will certainly spark conversations surrounding our understanding of masculinity.’ At a time when ideas around masculinity are undergoing a global crisis and concepts such as “toxic” and “fragile” masculinity are shaping social discourse, over 300 works by 50 international artists including Laurie Anderson, Richard Avedon, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Robert Mapplethorpe, Annette Messager and Wolfgang Tillmans offer a panorama of filmic and photographic explorations of masculinity rife with contradictions and complexity. The show also highlights lesser-known and younger artists such as Cassils, Sam Contis, George Dureau, Elle Pérez, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Hank Willis Thomas and Karlheinz Weinberger, among many others. Touching on themes of patriarchy, power, queer identity, race, class, sexuality and hyper-masculine stereotypes, as well as female perceptions of men, the works present masculinity as an unfixed, performative identity. Articles, Articles 2020, Events, Exhibitions, Exhibitions 2020, Photography, Photography 2020 Tags:

Normativity The process by which some groups of people, forms of expression and types of behaviour are classified according to a perceived standard of what is ‘normal’, ‘natural’, desirable and permissible in society. Inevitably, this process designates people, expressions and behaviours that do not fit these norms as abnormal, unnatural, undesirable and impermissible. Yasmeen Lari outside a women’s centre on stilts she designed in Sindh province, Pakistan. Photograph: courtesy Heritage Foundation of Pakistan 3 100 Day Studio, by the Architecture FoundationExamining increasingly fluid notions of masculinity over the past six decades, this book offers a culturally diverse collection of work from some of the world's most celebrated photographers. Jane Alison, Head of Visual Arts, Barbican, said: "I am delighted that we can now reopen our Masculinities: Liberation through Photography exhibition, which had met with such acclaim earlier in the year. It is not to be missed during this limited run. Masculinities continues our commitment to presenting leading twentieth century figures in the field of photography while also supporting younger contemporary artists working in the medium today. Given the inclusion of such a diverse array of images, the exhibition enriches our understanding of what it is to be a man in today’s world." In contrast to the conventions of the traditional family portrait, the artists gathered in the third chapter, Too close to Home: Family and Fatherhood, set out to record the “messiness” of life, reflecting on misogyny, violence, sexuality, mortality, intimacy and unfolding family dramas, presenting a more complex and not always comfortable vision of fatherhood and masculinity.

There is not much here about work – unless you count the wall of Hollywood actors playing Nazis. You would never think, from this show, that men ever earned a living, cooked a meal or read a book (though there is a sententious vitrine of Men Only magazines). Beyond the exceptions given, there is scarcely anything about the heart or intellect. Men are represented here almost entirely in terms of their bodies, sexuality or supposed type. Vogue-Chi facilitates a collection of vital tools historically developed by LGBTQ+ people to engage positively in life and overcome institutionalized oppression, invisibilization and abuse. Vogue-Chi was created by artists/dancers Carlos Maria Romero aka Atabey Mamasita & Ted Rogers in Margate, UK for people aged over 50. It has evolved organically into a multi-generational queer and allies safe space for self-expression and coming together. We are currently missing a lot of things. Everything from meeting friends for coffee to half price Mondays at the cinema seems like a distant memory. Living in London, there’s nothing we miss more than the wealth of culture we used to take for granted. We asked curator and archivist Cyana Madsen to talk about one of her favourite recent exhibitions. In defiance of the prejudice and legal constraints against homosexuality over the last century in Europe, the United States and beyond, the works presented in the forth chapter, Queering Masculinity, highlight how artists from the 1960s onwards have forged a new politically-charged queer aesthetic.

If you’re photographing yourself or someone else - be sure to make the other person feels comfortable and safe and that you have their consent. What comes to mind when you think of the word masculinity and yourself? Is it an item of clothing you often (or used to) wear? Is it an object related to your current or past relationships? Perhaps it's a part of your body (remember to keep it family friendly!)

Some of you are probably feeling disconcerted in this time. This is a simple guide to some exercises that you can try at home on your own terms to hopefully bring you a moment to move and connect with yourself in a loving way. They are part of Vogue-Chi, a movement practice created primarily for people 50+ years old but many people have praised its benefits. Stephanie Rosenthal, Director of the Gropius Bau, states: “Today, common perceptions of what it means to be or to become a man are increasingly questioned, especially for younger generations, who are confronted with these questions in a completely different way. The exhibition Masculinities: Liberation through Photography offers a nuanced examination of masculinities in all their facets and shades. The works by over 50 international artists on view in the exhibition build a bridge from classical images of masculinity to gender-fluid identities, thus doing justice to a complex reality.” Over to Carlos to guide you through your Vogue-Chi activity, along with some suggested music to play: Fetishisation To turn the subject into a fetish, sexually or otherwise. Fetishisation in terms of gender and desire frequently occurs in conjunction with objectification and power. Men and women of colour are frequently fetishised by white people, in society and in artistic practice, through different stereotypes and limitations. Trans and disabled people are also subject to fetishisation, particularly in bodily terms. Kobena Mercer’s critical essay on Robert Mapplethorpe, ‘Reading Radical Fetishism’, 1 and David Henry Hwang’s play and afterword to M. Butterfly (1988) both explore the notion of fetishisation.

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Luís Correia is an art historian and film programmer interested in the study of the body, philosophy, and the emancipatory politics of art. With an MA in nineteenth-century French art history from the Courtauld Institute of Art, he’s worked in exhibitions and programmed film events with the Barbican. He’s currently interested in researching the intersections between modern aesthetics, death, and the politics of mourning. MANDEM is an online media platform that offers a unique space for young men of colour to express themselves through writing, music and film. They provide a space for young people to engage in topical discussions centred around culture, politics and identity, while further encouraging them to challenge the narratives that appear in mainstream media. But if these sections include some hard-hitting images, they also include moments of humour, especially in the video art that represents each chapter. Richard Mosse’s film shot at Harvard, Fraternity (2007), shows 10 men screaming for as long as they can to win a keg of beer – screaming until they’re red in the face, and their eyes are bulging. Knut Åsdam’s video, Untitled: Pissing (1995), meanwhile, zooms in on a crotch which proves leaky instead of virile – suggesting that synonym for failed masculinity, the bed-wetter. “I didn’t want it to be a show that men came to and found themselves alienated from, or self-loathing,” says Pardo. “The show is full of humour, and it’s playful. In the early 1970s pioneers of feminist art such as Laurie Anderson and Annette Messager consciously objectified the male body in a bid to expose the uncomfortable nature of the dominant male gaze. In contrast, filmmakers such as Tracey Moffatt and Hilary Lloyd turn the tables on male representations of desire to foreground the power of the female gaze. Through the medium of film and photography, Masculinities considers how masculinity has been coded, performed, and socially constructed from the 1960s to the present day.