This edition of Aperture presented a mix of new photographic work exploring questions of queer identity, as well as past figures and projects that were the subject of new research and curatorial work. In the Words section, Critic Vince Aletti, art historian Richard Meyer, and photographer Catherine Opie reflect on the term queer and its relationship with photography; Hal Fischer discusses his project Gay Semiotics with Julia Bryan-Wilson; Sophie Hackett revisits Joan E. Biren's seminal "Dyke Showâ€; Shannon Michael Cane on queer independent publishing and zine culture; Philip Gefter on his discovery of Sam Wagstaff's never-before-seen photography and what it reveals about his storied relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe; and South African photographer Zanele Muholi speaks with Deborah Willis about her ongoing project to make her country's LGBTQ community visible. The Pictures section features William J. Simmons on Jimmy DeSana's work from the late 1970s; Senam Okudzeto on Lyle Ashton Harris's projects addressing colonial history and homophobia in Ghana; Stephanie H. Tung on Ren Hang, a then rising star of contemporary Chinese photography who created provocative imagery; Kevin Moore on the queer dimension of David Benjamin Sherry's colorful images of the American landscape, which reference icons of modernist photography; Andy Campbell on K8 Hardy's performance-based photography; Sophie Mörner on trans photographer Nitzan Krimsky's poignant self-documentation; Ana Finel Honigman on Dean Sameshima's images created with appropriated vintage pornographic imagery; Dean Daderko on A.L. Steiner's antic and political photo-collages and installations; and Eva Respini considers Mark Morrisroe's fervent self-portraiture made during the 1980s.
Featuring a photograph by Ren Hang on its cover, this issue was published two years before the artist's untimely death, bringing wider visibility to his work. It has since become a sought-after collectible.
