Anthony Goicolea
Encyclopedia
Anthony Goicolea is a New York
-based fine art photographer
, born in Atlanta, Georgia
.
Goicolea's photographs frequently deal with issues of androgyny
, homosexuality
, and child sexuality
. Goicolea, Cuban-American and gay
, was educated at the University of Georgia
and studied painting, photography, and sculpture at that institution. He holds an MFA
in fine arts from the Pratt
Institute. He made his debut in 1999, and now shows work with Postmasters
gallery in New York and Aurel Scheibler in Berlin, Germany.
In 2005, he received the BMW-Award for Photography.
Some of his work features photographs of "pre- to barely pubescent boys" (Art in America, Dec, 2001) in elaborately staged tableau settings, commonly showing multiple boys wearing traditional private school
uniforms either engaged in school-life or recreation after school — but with often transgressive and erotic twists in their activities. Of great interest in these compositions is the fact that Goicolea himself portrays all of the boys in his photographs through the astute use of costumes, wigs, make-up, and post-production editing via the software Adobe Photoshop
; "always looking uncannily like a boy on the edge of puberty" (The Advocate, August 14, 2001). Therefore, despite having numerous figures in them, Goicolea's photographs are actually very complex large-scale self-portraits, and are always done in a flawlessly realist manner.
The pioneering fine-art photographer Cindy Sherman
is an apparent influence on Goicolea's work, given her own extensive use of self-portraits and emphasis on sexually-charged narrative topics. Sherman and Goicolea have also had several joint exhibitions. His work can be strongly compared to similar manipulated and/or staged art photography featuring children and adolescents, such as that of Bernard Faucon
, Loretta Lux
, and Justine Kurland
.
Recently, Goicolea has also been producing and exhibiting his drawings, which follow much of the same subject matter as his photographs. He has also published several books.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
-based fine art photographer
Fine art photography
Fine art photography refers to photographs that are created in accordance with the creative vision of the photographer as artist. Fine art photography stands in contrast to photojournalism, which provides a visual account for news events, and commercial photography, the primary focus of which is to...
, born in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
.
Goicolea's photographs frequently deal with issues of androgyny
Androgyny
Androgyny is a term derived from the Greek words ανήρ, stem ανδρ- and γυνή , referring to the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics...
, homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, and child sexuality
Child sexuality
Child sexuality is the sexual feelings, behaviors, and development of children.-Freud:Until Sigmund Freud published his Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality in 1905, children were often regarded as asexual, having no sexuality until later development. Freud was one of the first researchers to...
. Goicolea, Cuban-American and gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, was educated at the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
and studied painting, photography, and sculpture at that institution. He holds an MFA
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
in fine arts from the Pratt
Pratt
Pratt is a surname, which may refer to any of the people listed below. There is also a page listing people named John Pratt.- Literature and the arts :...
Institute. He made his debut in 1999, and now shows work with Postmasters
Postmasters (art gallery)
Postmasters is a contemporary art gallery located on 19th Street in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan owned and directed by Magda Sawon and Tamas Banovich...
gallery in New York and Aurel Scheibler in Berlin, Germany.
In 2005, he received the BMW-Award for Photography.
Some of his work features photographs of "pre- to barely pubescent boys" (Art in America, Dec, 2001) in elaborately staged tableau settings, commonly showing multiple boys wearing traditional private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
uniforms either engaged in school-life or recreation after school — but with often transgressive and erotic twists in their activities. Of great interest in these compositions is the fact that Goicolea himself portrays all of the boys in his photographs through the astute use of costumes, wigs, make-up, and post-production editing via the software Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
; "always looking uncannily like a boy on the edge of puberty" (The Advocate, August 14, 2001). Therefore, despite having numerous figures in them, Goicolea's photographs are actually very complex large-scale self-portraits, and are always done in a flawlessly realist manner.
The pioneering fine-art photographer Cindy Sherman
Cindy Sherman
Cindy Sherman is an American photographer and film director, best known for her conceptual portraits. Sherman currently lives and works in New York City. In 1995, she was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship. She is represented by Sprüth Magers Berlin London in and Metro Pictures gallery in...
is an apparent influence on Goicolea's work, given her own extensive use of self-portraits and emphasis on sexually-charged narrative topics. Sherman and Goicolea have also had several joint exhibitions. His work can be strongly compared to similar manipulated and/or staged art photography featuring children and adolescents, such as that of Bernard Faucon
Bernard Faucon
Bernard Faucon is a French photographer and writer.Faucon was born in Apt, in Provence, southern France. He was taught at the lycée in Apt, then graduated in Philosophy from the Sorbonne in 1973. Until 1977 he worked as a fine art painter, and thereafter discovered photography...
, Loretta Lux
Loretta Lux
Loretta Lux was born in Dresden, East Germany and is a fine art photographer known for her surreal portraits of young children. She currently lives and works in Monaco....
, and Justine Kurland
Justine Kurland
Justine Kurland is a fine art photographer based in New York.-Education:Kurland earned her B.F.A. from the School of Visual Arts in 1996. She went on to Yale University where she studied with Gregory Crewdson and Philip-Lorca diCorcia and graduated with an M.F.A...
.
Recently, Goicolea has also been producing and exhibiting his drawings, which follow much of the same subject matter as his photographs. He has also published several books.
Further reading
- Anthony Goicolea. Twin Palms, 2003. (Book)
- P.B. Franklin, A. Goicolea. "Boyology". GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies (2001).
Fellowships and Awards
- 2006 The Cintas Fellowship
- 2005 The BMW Photo Paris Award
- 1998 The Bronx Museum, 'Artist In The Market Place' program
- 1997 The Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant
Public collections
- The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC
- The Indianapolis Museum, Indianapolis, IN
- The North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
- The Museum of Modern Art, New York
- The Guggenheim Museum of Art, New York
- The Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
- Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, AZ
- The Museum of Helmond, Nederland
- The Groninger Museum, Groninger, Nederland
- Museum of Contemporary PhotographyMuseum of Contemporary PhotographyThe Museum of Contemporary Photography was founded in 1984 by Columbia College Chicago. It is well known for an active program and curating which discovers many emerging and mid-career artists...
, Chicago - Yale University Art Collection, Photography, New Haven, CT
- El Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Castilla, Leon, España
- The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
- Centro Galego De Arte Contemporanea, Santiago de Compostela, España
- University of Georgia Library, Rare Books Collection, Athens, GA