Male Call

Photos of men, collected by William Knodel, adorn ArtRage Gallery through March 17

Vernacular photographs—those pedestrian pictures of anonymous subjects by unrecognized photographers—are irresistible to a certain type of collector. This type of collector would rather rifle through the bins of a bric-a-brac store than bid at a hotly contested auction. Rather than trying to acquire universally admired works of genius, they seek to find neglected relics, to rescue and redeem pictures that were once precious to someone but have been set adrift, relegated to flea markets and the like. 

Imagine passing a shop window and an antique photo catches your eye. Stopping to peer closer, you count 11 young, athletic men in swim trunks and sweaters—some brawny, some scrawny—assembled in front of a tent large enough for the lot of them. The expressions on the swimmers range from sullen to cocksure. The figure dead center in the frame is gazing intently at the camera, his face set in challenge. His neighbor to the left, a tall, gangly boy, got caught with his tongue out. The two are touching toes, one foot sneaking off sideways to reach the other. Is this just a little horseplay or perhaps a sign of something more? 

When William Knodel encountered this photograph in the early 1970s, he was an undergrad at Hunter College wrestling with his sexual identity. The photo spoke to him to the degree that he was willing to part with the princely sum of $5 to own it. He saw kindred spirits in those faces from long ago. 

“I got the sense that there were other people like myself back in that time period,” he says, “and that they had lives and loves and had connected with others and I could dream about having that in my own life.”  

Knodel sat in his Westcott Street home to discuss the exhibit. There was also a frank appreciation of the physiques lined up for inspection. Knodel displayed the picture prominently and openly appreciated its celebration of masculinity.

The powerful feeling of connection to that first image sparked a search for more. Portraits taken of couples or small groups of men are far from rare, and Knodel, now 61, has been able to collect images everywhere he has traveled over the years: Bristol, Paris, Stuttgart, Toronto, San Francisco; even the flea markets of Syracuse. This ongoing search has led to a pretty hefty collection of tintypes, daguerreotypes and prints, nearly 400 all told. 

They all show open expressions of fondness: two men with bushy beards and similar suits stoically holding hands; two guys, all grins, one vamping with arms akimbo, the other catching him up in a loose hug; a couple of chaps sitting on each other’s laps. These images and dozens more like them can be seen at Men Only: Vernacular Photographs of Male Affection from the Collection of William Knodel, the current exhibition at ArtRage, 505 Hawley Ave.

The decision to bring these images to public attention was influenced by current events. In late 2010, Jonathon D. Katz gave a talk at Syracuse University’s Light Work Gallery that galvanized Knodel. Katz discussed a recent exhibition he co-curated called Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture, a large and wide-ranging exploration of sexual identity that was groundbreaking but also the target of censorship, specifically at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., in October 2010. 

With debates raging over gay marriage in New York state, Knodel decided his personal collection could make an important public and political statement: that relationships between men are nothing new and nothing to fear. To this end he enlisted the help of an old friend who also attended the lecture, Nancy Keefe Rhodes. 

“It’s been fascinating to work with Nancy because I didn’t know much about what a curator did,” says Knodel (emphasis on a hard “K”). “Parts of the show have been seen before, but this was a different kind of care and a different level of networking with other academic people.”

Boys Club

“Even though I’ve known Bill so long,” recalls Rhodes, 63, “I didn’t know he had this collection of hundreds and hundreds of pictures.” Their first collective goal was to narrow the selection down to high-quality images that would best reflect the collection’s variety: differences in time period, medium, pose, costume, race, social station and, most importantly, the range of expression and the level of communication between the posers. The sheer number of images made this a challenge, especially as they were all being stored in reusable grocery bags.

“There came a point when we just said, ‘These have all got to come out,’” Rhodes says with a laugh. This was accomplished by spreading them out across seven foldout tables in the basement of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 1308 Meadowbrook Drive, during coffee hour. On the whole the parishioners gave this impromptu preview a favorable response. When asked to comment, the rector of the church, the Rev. Julie Calhoun-Bryant, was emphatically positive: “I was deeply moved by the moments of unguarded intimacy revealed in many of the photographs. The tenderness and love shown in them are compelling.” 

Several events have been orchestrated to place the collection in a context of scholarship. ArtRage director Rose Viviano helped in this regard by inviting Roger Hallas, co-director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Studies Program at SU, to collaborate. 

Hallas jumped at the chance. “William’s collection is significant on several levels,” Hallas explains. “It gives us invaluable insight into how men regarded themselves. These images actually offer a glimpse at male affection which transcends the often rigid divide between homo and hetero that shapes our era.” 

Hallas organized a public lecture for March 1 by David Deitcher, which will be followed by a panel discussion at the gallery. Deitcher is a curator at the International Center of Photography in New York City and is the author of Dear Friends: American Photographs of Men Together, 1840-1918 (Harry N. Abrams, 2001). His book will be available for viewing at the gallery along with illuminating titles such as Kevin Bentley’s Sailor: Vintage Photographs of a Masculine Icon (Council Oak Books, 2000), John Ibson’s Picturing Men: A Century of Male Relationships in Everyday American Photography (Smithsonian Institution Press, 2002), and Who’s a Pretty Boy Then?One Hundred & Fifty Years of Gay Life in Pictures, by James Gardiner (Serpent’s Tale Publishing, 1998).

On Saturday, Feb. 25, ArtRage will screen In-laws & Outlaws, a documentary consisting of interviews with both gay and straight people on the subject of love. And on Saturday, March 3, Other People’s Pictures, a documentary on the secondhand photo culture of Manhattan, will be screened. Filmmakers Lorca Shepperd and Cabot Philbrick will attend.

In the end, though, you don’t need to be an expert on queer theory to appreciate these images. First off, they are beautiful objects in their own right, created with antique and arcane methods. Second, they are records of moments which are by turns awkward, intimate, jaunty, touching, comical, joyful, ridiculous and inspirational; in other words, intensely, passionately human. 

The theme of this exhibit will resonate especially strongly for some, and in some ways it was designed for those who find themselves outside the straight mainstream. “I think if I had had an opportunity when I was younger to see these kinds of images,” Knodel says, “I would’ve felt very differently about what was possible for me later in life and felt less alone.” 

Still, visitors of all persuasions are welcome, hoped for and expected. Rhodes puts it this way: “I think it’s important for {the general public} to see this, for a host of reasons. Like many things in life, take what you can use and leave the rest. Not everyone has to agree that every point we make is important, but there are a lot of things about this exhibition that would do people good.”  

Men Only will be on display at ArtRage’s Norman Putter Gallery until March 17. A reception will be held on Saturday, Feb. 11, 7 to 9 p.m. A gallery talk will be held on Feb. 16, 7 to 9 p.m., with Knodel and Rhodes in conjunction with Third Thursday. 

ArtRage is free and open to the public on Wednesdays through Fridays, 2 to 7 p.m., and Saturdays, noon to 4 p.m. Visit artragegallery.org or call 218-5711 for more information on the exhibition and related events.