Benjamin Wolbergs, Focus on the Margins

Focus on the Margins

Benjamin Wolbergs

Publisher
Verlag Kettler
Year
2020
ISBN
978-3-86206-789-3
Specifications
Hardcover
304 pages
30 × 24 cm

Art, more than anything, opens up the possibility of approaching one’s own sexuality beyond the limits imposed by taboos. Not only does it allow for a risk-free, playful exploration of gender and forbidden desires, but it is unique in capturing its contradictions. In recent years, a young and active queer photography scene has emerged, helped in large part by social media. Indulging their desire for self-presentation, affirmation, and reflection, many photographers portray male homosexuality in particular as a private idyll. At the same time, they shine a critical light on their own and society’s approach to transsexuality and gender roles and expose the corrupting but also affirmative power of pornography. Films, series, and mainstream cultural appropriation suggest that society has largely embraced queer lifestyles. However, a number of documentary photographers provide evidence that being gay or lesbian can still lead to marginalization, isolation, stigmatization, and violence in certain countries and communities. Their works also take the regime of sexuality itself into account and show that many bans on same-sex contact have colonial origins. This carefully researched book introduces more than 50 contemporary photographic positions, including those of well-established photographers such as Matt Lambert, Florian Hetz, and Spyros Rennt, as well as plenty of unknown and less well-known talent.

More from Verlag Kettler

Spine Index, an archive of independent photobooks

FIND A
BOOK
/
/

ARCHIVE

Loading…

ABOUT

SpineIndex is a digital platform dedicated to independent photobooks, photography publications, design books, and self-published editions — the kind of work that rarely makes it into bookshop windows or mainstream catalogues. It exists to document, connect, and keep visible a world of publishers, artists, and makers who operate outside conventional distribution. A living reference for anyone who takes this territory seriously — collectors, researchers, students, and the simply curious.

#

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

V

W

X

Y

Z