Queer Archives | Aperture

Bruce Weber, Keith, Pete's Rock Campground, Adirondack Park, New York, 1990

Essays

Bruce Weber’s All-American Obsessions

Weber’s ad campaigns for Abercrombie & Fitch and Calvin Klein made him one of the most prestigious names in photography—until he was accused by male models of unwanted advances. Will a recent exhibition reshape his legacy?

Interviews

A Beautiful Friendship, Deepened by Artistic Intensity

After the novelist Garth Greenwell was assigned to write about Mark Armijo McKnight’s photographs, the two men bonded over their shared themes of queer sex and intimacy.

Introducing

A Queer Wish for Other Worlds

David Gilbert’s colorful studio photographs feel intensely private, like a scrapbook for a tightly knit circle of friends.

Fred McDarrah, Untitled (Youths at Stonewall Uprising), New York, New York, June 28, 1969

Reviews

The Photographer Who Documented the Struggle for Gay Liberation

Fred McDarrah made singular portraits of Bob Dylan, Susan Sontag, and other luminaries of the 1960s. But his photojournalism also cemented the era’s visual style—and defined a political movement.

Reviews

One of Photography’s Most Enigmatic Love Triangles Finally Gets Its Due

In their book “Body Language,” Nick Mauss and Angela Miller show how a group of artists shaped a network of queer image culture decades before Stonewall.

Featured

11 Photobooks that Reimagine Queer History and Visibility

From Zanele Muholi’s radical statements of identity to the photographers envisioning trans activism and community, here are must-read titles that celebrate queer voices and stories.

Gonzalo Reyes Rodriguez, Untitled (Piso de Isaac), 2021

Introducing

A Photographer’s “Spiritual Collaboration” with a Mysterious Mexican Archive

When Gonzalo Reyes Rodriguez discovered a trove of pictures of a young man inventing himself, he found a way to speak about desire and beauty.

Portfolio Prize

Avion Pearce Creates a World between Reality and Dreams

Winner of the 2024 Aperture Portfolio Prize, Pearce maps the interplay between time and the body.

Interviews

In Public Spaces, Tender Photographs about Love and Friendship

Clifford Prince King speaks with Lyle Ashton Harris about displaying sensual images of Black queer men on bus shelters and newsstands.

Portfolios

Nabil Harb Seeks Mystery and Community in Central Florida

The photographer’s queer and Muslim identity gives him a distinct perspective. But, he says, “I am just as much a part of this place.”

A solarized, red and yellow toned photograph of two figures kissing

Interviews

The Photographers Who Envisioned Queer History and Resistance

An exhibition showcases artists and collectives that built queer image cultures with lasting influence.

Susan Kuklin, Kachin and Michael at Michael’s Apartment, 1987

Interviews

How Pictures Can Shape an Essential History of Queer Life

From photographs of same-sex weddings to HIV/AIDS caretakers, Stephen Vider’s new book shows how queer people redefined gender roles, domestic space, and the politics of intimacy in the twentieth century.

Featured

10 Essential Stories That Illuminate Queer Lives

From JEB’s pathbreaking archive of lesbian photography to Ren Hang’s subversive fantasies, we look back at must-read articles from Aperture’s archive.

From the Archive

JEB’s Pathbreaking Archive of Lesbian Photography

For years, Joan E. Biren crisscrossed the U.S. with a slide show that told an alternative history of photography with lesbians as central protagonists.