The Perverse World of Anthony Goicolea
In 1999 the Rare Gallery in New York City showcased the first solo exhibition by a young Cuban American photographer. “You and What Army” comprised an intriguing series of large mural-size photographs, portraying teenage boys engaged in “lax” and playful behavior. What was most striking, however, was that, on closer inspection, all the boys in the photographs appeared to have the same countenance: that of the artist.
Anthony Goicolea (b. 1971) has the predilection of transforming himself into a 15-year -old pubescent boy, with remarkable success, and then posing for his own pictures. Moreover,
Goicolea breaks new ground in self-portrait photography by playing all the parts in his seamless photo collages, something he achieves by his staunch patience, his mastery of the digital medium, and endless hours in front of Adobe Photoshop.
Goicolea’s boys inhabit a universe in which adults are conspicuously absent. The boys’ activities range from innocent cavorting as in Toss Off, to mischievous sexual experimentation like the two pool boys touching tongues in Whet. This seeming recession to infantilism has many layers of construe, none of which are insignificant. In order to examine these layers effectively, it is best to analyze a representative specimen of Goicolea’s work, which exemplifies many of his intentions.
One such composition is Feastlings, a 40 × 75 color C-print, which depicts an imminent food fight. The viewer is confronted with the interior of a courtly dining room in one-point
perspective. The room is austerely decorated in period style with heavy cypress-green curtains on the back and side walls. The gold of the curtain tresses is revisited...
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...d surely be a challenge.
Works Cited
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Franklin, Paul B. “Boyology.” GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies Vol. 7:2, 2001: 355-
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Goicolea, Anthony. “You and What Army.” Artist’s Statement 1999. 31 Oct. 2003
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Olson, Marisa S. “Anthony Goicolea Reflections of Self.” Planet Spring 2003: 44- 47.
For my museum selection I decided to attend Texas State University’s Wittliff Collection. When I arrived, there was no one else there besides me and the librarian. To be honest, I probably would have never gone to an art museum if my teacher didn’t require me to. This was my first time attending the Wittliff Collection, thus I asked the librarian, “Is there any other artwork besides Southwestern and Mexican photography?” She answered, “No, the Wittliff is known only for Southwestern and Mexican photography.” I smiled with a sense of embarrassment and continued to view the different photos. As I walked through Wittliff, I became overwhelmed with all of the different types of photography. There were so many amazing pieces that it became difficult to select which one to write about. However, I finally managed to choose three unique photography pieces by Alinka Echeverria, Geoff Winningham, and Keith Carter.
The white walls of the museum came to life by the art works on and surrounding them. As soon as I walked in, I was facing Sheila Hicks, Vivace, Vivace, (2014) which lit up the room with its vibrant colors, serving as the
Sexuality and Gender in Children’s Daily Worlds article by Thorne and Luria focuses on the relationships between sexuality and gender in the experience of 9 to 11 year old children. The purpose of the authors’ analysis is to illuminate age-based variations and transitions in the organization of sexuality and gender. Throughout this paper we discover how gender and sexuality has become a social and cultural construction that is expressed through young children. At a young age we tend to define and separate ourselves by gender, boys vs. girl. These divisions are enforced around us daily. For example, teachers often tend to separate team by gender whether it’s in the classroom or the playground.
Katz, Jonathon. “The Invention of Heterosexuality: The Debut of the Heterosexual.” The Invention of Heterosexuality. New York: Dutton, 1995. 21-35. iLearn
...ve begins generating rumors for male peers who do not qualify as a stereotypical male. For instance, Olive pretends to have sex with a male peer during a popular house party (Gluck, 2010). This imaginary hook-up benefits the male peer’s bullying dilemma. Again, gender policing occurs between men when masculinity is questioned (Kimmel, 2008). “One survey found that most Americans boys would be rather be punched in the face than called gay” (Kimmel, 2000, p.77). The gender police govern Olive’s and the male peer’s status in social standings. America’s obsession with sex disregards if a girl truly sleeps around.
Williams, Bruce. "The Reflection of a Blind Gaze: Maria Luisa Bemberg, Filmmaker." A Woman's Gaze: Latin American Women Artists. Ed. Marjorie Agosin. New York; White Pine Press, 1998. 171-90.
In this relationship between a man and a boy, sexual favors were granted by the boy in exchange for mentorship by the man. What Boswell and Halperin dispute is whether or not this is a case of homosexuality. My view of the matter aligns closer to that of Halperin;
Halperin, David. "Is There a History of Sexuality?." The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader. Ed. Henry
Mondimore, Francis Mark. A Natural History of Homosexuality. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.
Milstein, Susan A. Taking Sides Clashing Views in Human Sexuality. Ed. William J. Taverner and Ryan W. McKee. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.
Similarly, the furniture in the house is as sullen as the house itself. What little furniture is in the house is beaten-up; this is a symbol of the dark setting. The oak bed is the most important p...
Wilton, Tamsin. "Which One's the Man? The Heterosexualisation of Lesbain Sex." Gender, Sex, and Sexuality. New York: Oxford University, 2009. 157-70. Print.
Marinoble, Rita M. "Homosexuality: A Blind Spot In The School Mirror." Professional School Counseling 1.3 (1998): 4-7. ERIC. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
Stein, Edward. The Mismeasure of Desire: The Science, Theory, and Ethics of Sexual Orientation. New York, NY: Oxford UP, 1999. Print. 20 Oct. 2011
Stripped back and neutral tones dominate the walls and floor surfaces. Apart from the Ultra Marin lightweight curtains which covers the full length of the window, from ceiling to floor and a striking feature wall. Different sized mirrors arranged in an abstract manner, creates a funky and trendy vibe highlighting just how much character this design possess. Small amounts of negative space between each mirror, delivers