Luke Gilford grew up steeped in rodeo culture, but it wasn’t until 2016 that he stumbled onto the queer rodeo scene.
The photographer and filmmaker spent the next four years documenting the subculture’s many varied angles, culminating in a stunning book called National Anthem.
Now, folks in New York City can witness this “celebration of outsiders and the beauty of chosen families” in person at Gilford’s first exhibit in the city. It runs from now through August 28 at SN37 Gallery (204 Front Street) in the Seaport.
“The mainstream rodeo world is, you know, obviously, very homophobic and conservative,” Gilford told The Guardian. “There’s so much machismo. It’s racist.” For Gilford, then, the discovery of the more inclusive queer rodeo scene offered a kind of intrigue. “We all know what a rodeo is,” he observes, “and we all know what queer is. We don’t think of them going together.”
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Speaking about the book’s title and inspiration, Gilford said: “We’re taught in school to recite the national anthem every morning. It has this aura of promise. But as we grow older, we realize this promise is kind of a myth. What I think is really beautiful, and so inspiring, about the queer rodeo community is that it brings back that aura of promise. It embraces both ends of the American cultural spectrum: people living on the land, but who are also queer.”
But okay, enough words — check out some of Gilford’s work below:
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When he’s not gay rodeo hopping, Gilford also takes phenomenal portraits of queer and queer-adjacent celebrities.
Here’s a small sample:
Troye Sivan:
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Bretman Rock:
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Lil Nas X:
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Jane Fonda:
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Lizzo:
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Mister P
A good photograph draws the viewer in. These are very nice photographs that drew me in.
Kangol2
Excellent work. The gay rodeo photos in particular evoke an entire world that most people have no clue about.
hotshot70
As a gay man who works at a local rodeo in august, it’s refreshing to see. My rodeo is not a gay one, so I feel like I have a secret identity. Luckily most people I confide in are cool with it. Sidney Iowa Rodeo is having 99th annual one this August. Hope to be at the 100th in 2023
scotty
we are truly everywhere.
Ken A.
Rodeos should not be celebrated but condemned. Animal cruelty at its worst.
Bengali
Yes. I agree 100%. Anything that uses animals for entertainment should be banned. I live near a very well-known horse race track. It disgusts me to see ppl flock to those events. So called animal lovers. Admittedly i do eat meat but I’m not going to condemn myself or anyone who does that. Veggie diets are not always as healthy as ppl think and my stomach doesn’t tolerate plant proteins or greens very well. For entertainment tho – HELL NO. I cringe when i see shows like America’s Got Talent feature animal acts. Well the pets appear to be well maintained, the high jumps many animals are made to do for audience entertainment cannot be good for their bodies.
barryaksarben
so BEnghali you eat meant but. the horse racing? wow, SO you know anything about horse racing and the good it does for so many including the animals. I have worked in the industry when young and saw first hand how well the horses are treated by the vast majority of the trainers and owners
linedrive
I love this and I think it’s a great title but it’s the pledge of allegiance that you learn to recite daily in the classroom, not the national anthem.
SDR94103
don’t forget, it’s still animal cruelty.