Photographer Luke Gilford Finds Queer Joy in Queer Cowboys
When photographer and filmmaker Luke Gilford was growing up in Colorado in the machismo world of the rodeo, he didn't feel connected. His dad was a rodeo rider and later a judge for Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, and as he recalls in an interview with Dazed, he vividly remembered his dad's giant silver belt buckle, his snakeskin boots, and the majestic horses in golden light, illuminating his rides.
"There's an indelible magnetism to the rodeo — it brings the mythological side of America out into the open air. The rodeo is a spectacle oozing with displays of power and vulnerability," he said. "It is a wash for the senses: peaks of pastel geographies, sunsets, adrenaline, courtship, the sounds and smells of animals, sweat, blood, barbecue, denim, hairspray, alcohol, skin and dirt."
But being gay, he didn't feel connected in this "incredibly homophobic" world.
"Growing up as 'other' in rural or suburban America is to live with constant threats of violence and pressure to conform," Gilford went on to say. "Even though there are many aspects of Western culture that I love, I didn't feel comfortable pursuing it in the same way my father did."
Nor did he feel connected to queer culture in the cities he was to live in, such as New York and Los Angeles. He studied art at UCLA and has had his work — film and photography — shown in such cultural institutions as the Museum of Modern Art, FOAM in Amsterdam, as well as at Sundance's NEXT festival, as well in the pages of such publications as the New York Times and Vogue.
"Luke's work provides a poetic and cinematic look into his surreal world, combining a unique visual style with a strong sense of intimacy with his subjects," writes a profile on his website.
Luke Gilford as a child with his father.
Gifford found "the electric charge of belonging" when he discovered International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) a few years ago.
"I discovered an entirely different kind of queer culture in rural communities that was enlightening and inspiring," he wrote on an Instagram post. "Everyone in the LGBTQIA+ spectrum is represented and supports each other. It's this unique, safe space for queer people to connect over their love of Western culture while expressing their identities — folks who aren't typically welcomed in the mainstream rodeo circuit. Here, you show up as you are, without fear of judgment or ridicule. It's family."
This led to an ongoing project of photographing members of the IGRA and other cowboys that culminates in Gifford's first New York show, "National Anthem" (at New York's�SN37 Gallery)�features larger-than-life portraits of IGRA members dominating the gallery space. He also put his photos in a book, his first monograph, both of which he calls "National Anthem." He explained the title on Instagram: "As children we recite the National Anthem with an aura of promise. But as we grow older, many of us discover that it is actually a myth. The queer rodeo brings that promise back to America — a place where we can be whatever we want to be. No matter the color of your skin, your gender expression or sexual identity — if you show up, you're accepted as family."
He told Dazed about the exhibit and monogram.
"'National Anthem'�celebrates the typically invisible queer bodies living their lives, discovering themselves, and falling in love within rural landscapes. I think they expand what it means to be an American as well as what it means to be queer in both subtle and profound ways. I wanted to reflect that with larger-than-life prints that directly confront viewers. The beauty and dignity of the subjects are made visible in a manner that is so often reserved for only celebrities and models."
"I want to represent queer joy and for viewers to feel that joy viscerally, while also reminding people of the very real and ongoing presence of danger that queer bodies face daily, simply for existing," he went on to say. "To me,�'National Anthem'�proves that there is power and beauty in survival. We often think of survival as something that just happens to us, or that we are blessed with. But through creating this work I came to think of survival as a deliberate and creative force. It requires constant work to sustain and protect against all odds."
For more on Luke Gilford, visit his website.
And view this sample of his work from his IG account: