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Luke Gilford: National Anthem: America’s Queer Rodeo Hardcover – December 15, 2020

by Luke Gilford (Photographer, Contributor), Leighton Brown (Contributor), Mary L. Gray (Contributor),
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 25 ratings
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A unique document of America’s gay rodeo subculture, National Anthem is a celebration of outsiders and the beauty of chosen families everywhere

Growing up in Colorado with his father in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, filmmaker and photographer Luke Gilford spent his formative years around the rodeo, an American institution that has often been associated with conservatism and homophobia. It was only later, when he discovered the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA), that he began to see himself as part of a rodeo family. The IGRA is the organizing body for the LGBTQ+ cowboy and cowgirl communities in North America―a safe space for all races and gender expressions.

The queer rodeo brings in participants from rural regions all over America for structured educational programs and competitions, facilitating opportunities to hone athletic skills, connection and care for animals, personal integrity, self-confidence and support for one another. Gilford has spent over three years traveling the country to document this diverse and ever-evolving subculture.

Shot on medium-format film and printed in a traditional darkroom, the work is detailed and rich with emotion and color. The resulting photographs are both personal and poetic―clear testaments to Gilford's intimate relationship to the community.

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  1. Print length
    176 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Damiani
  4. Publication date
    December 15, 2020
  5. Dimensions
    9.9 x 0.9 x 12.9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    8862087365
  7. ISBN-13
    978-8862087360
  8. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

Review

One of the great fashion portraitists of the new vanguard, Luke Gilford returns to his roots and looks to the great American rodeos of the West, focusing on the International Gay Rodeo Association. National Anthem: America’s Queer Rodeo is rich with Gilford’s tenderness for his subjects while imploring us to rethink the hegemony of the American cowboy. -- Danielle Walsh ― Vanity Fair

A series of tender portraits celebrating and documenting the [International Gay Rodeo Association] in all its glory. Here, Gilford shares his celebration of the space where queer country folk cultivate a powerful sense of community, creativity, and pride -- Miss Rosen ― AnOther

A timely musing on the state of America. -- Dale Berning Sawa ― Guardian

After discovering how homophobic American rodeos can be, the book... is a personal quest to break down these longstanding tribal dichotomies. -- Ayla Angelos ― It's Nice That

If you're in an escapist mood, we highly recommend Luke Gilford's new book, National Anthem: America's Queer Rodeo ― a delightful exploration of rural America. Gilford grew up going to rodeos with his father. As he grew older, Gilford became more aware of just how anti-LGBTQ mainstream rodeo and rural America could be. Gilford, who is queer, first participated in and then turned his camera on the subculture of the International Gay Rodeo Association over the last four years. This book is as much a celebration of queer culture as it is America, and it's a lovely way to look at the classic American sport. -- Kate Bubacz ― BuzzFeed

The International Gay Rodeo Association is the little-known organising body for the LGBTQI+ cowboy and cowgirl communities in North America. Based out of rural Colorado, it arranges educational programmes and competitions and teaches athletic skills, care for animals and self-confidence to the community. Photographer Luke Gilford, himself the son of a professional bull rider, spent three years documenting the scene. The resulting book is a glorious, poetic celebration of this singular subculture. -- Baya Simons ― Financial Times

National Anthem is also a rejoinder to it, an unapologetically proud confrontation of a culture that has long clung to rigid archetypes of masculinity, race, and sexuality. Ultimately, as Gilford is himself quick to point out, National Anthem isn’t about undoing the myth of the American cowboy as much as recognizing that such a myth has more than one version to be told. -- Joseph Akel ― Interview

Luke Gilford has become one of my generation’s instantly recognizable photographers for his portraits of the contrarian and marginalized, whose cultural influence is often magnified by his lens. In these richly personal pages, the Colorado-born photographer explores his almost paradoxical love of the American West and queer culture. (Its forebear is another personal fave, the spectacular multi-hyphenate Lisa Eisner’s Rodeo Girls.) -- David Prior ― PRIOR

[Gilford's] return to the rodeo resulted in four years of traveling throughout Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and California to document rural queer life―and the radical acceptance and community he discovered within the International Gay Rodeo Association. His queer rodeo images have now culminated in [a] stunning first monograph, National Anthem... The book, which is comprised of dozens of images, as well as poignant essays, renders queer resilience, survival, and joy. -- Sophia Kercher ― Vogue

Forever a Rodeo boy, raised by his father in Colorado, Photographer and Filmmaker Luke Gilford attended events sponsored by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Connecting with the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA), Gilford is drawn to IGRA’s commitment to creating safe spaces for discussions on race and gender preferences for the LGBTQ+ Community. Seeing the brave and confident attendees at IGRA events Gilford began his three year journey meeting new people and documenting the emerging subculture. -- Editors ― Musee

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Damiani (December 15, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 8862087365
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-8862087360
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.39 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.9 x 0.9 x 12.9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 25 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Drew Sawyer

    Drew Sawyer

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    Drew Sawyer is an art historian and a curator. He is the Phillip Leonian and Edith Rosenbaum Leonian Curator of Photography at the Brooklyn Museum, and has previously held curatorial positions at the Columbus Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Chazen Museum of Art. His writings and curatorial projects cover a range of topics, from the origins of social documentary to contemporary photographic practices, and he is a regular contributor to scholarly volumes, exhibition catalogues, journals, and magazines, including Aperture, Artforum, Mousse, and OSMOS. He holds a Ph.D. in Art History from Columbia University.

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  2. Luke Gilford

    Luke Gilford

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Luke Gilford is a director, writer and photographer born in Denver, Colorado. He studied art at UCLA, and his photography and films have been exhibited around the world, including at MoMA in New York, FOAM in Amsterdam, and Sundance's NEXT festival. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and Vogue. Gilford is currently based between Los Angeles and New York City. National Anthem is his first monograph.

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  3. Matthew Riemer

    Matthew Riemer

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Matthew L. Riemer and Leighton Brown, creators of Instagram's popular @lgbt_history, live in Washington, D.C., where Leighton is an attorney, and Matthew, a former attorney, is a writer, lecturer, and Ph.D. student. The couple enjoys fighting fascists, spending time with their dog, and disrupting fundamentalists' worldviews. Learn more at queerhistory.com.

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Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
25 global ratings
The important American queer representation we didn’t know we needed.
5 Stars
The important American queer representation we didn’t know we needed.
I grew up outside of Seattle. I lived a pretty sheltered life. I looked to magazines, movies, and tv to tell me what should be idolized and celebrated. Representation in Hollywood and across America has needed a reboot. An upgrade. A reality check. This book did that for the American queer community. It is a real, documented look into the diversity that exists within our country. The honesty of the photos is moving. It showed me a world I wouldn’t have known existed and I’m so happy it does. Happy to have this book in my small, yet growing, collection. Well done Luke.
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Top reviews from the United States

Joel Dixon
5.0 out of 5 stars The important American queer representation we didn’t know we needed.
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2021
Verified Purchase
I grew up outside of Seattle. I lived a pretty sheltered life. I looked to magazines, movies, and tv to tell me what should be idolized and celebrated. Representation in Hollywood and across America has needed a reboot. An upgrade. A reality check. This book did that for the American queer community. It is a real, documented look into the diversity that exists within our country. The honesty of the photos is moving. It showed me a world I wouldn’t have known existed and I’m so happy it does. Happy to have this book in my small, yet growing, collection. Well done Luke.
Customer image
Joel Dixon
5.0 out of 5 stars The important American queer representation we didn’t know we needed.
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2021
I grew up outside of Seattle. I lived a pretty sheltered life. I looked to magazines, movies, and tv to tell me what should be idolized and celebrated. Representation in Hollywood and across America has needed a reboot. An upgrade. A reality check. This book did that for the American queer community. It is a real, documented look into the diversity that exists within our country. The honesty of the photos is moving. It showed me a world I wouldn’t have known existed and I’m so happy it does. Happy to have this book in my small, yet growing, collection. Well done Luke.
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One person found this helpful
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Leah Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars An Exquisite Book
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2020
Verified Purchase
I have just been transported to a new world, one I never knew of and certainly never imagined. At any time, and of course and especially during the time of Covid when our America seems to be dancing on the edge of insanity, this was the kind of voyage only the best works of art can provide.
One person found this helpful
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Michael
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible book.
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2021
Verified Purchase
I’m a big fan of Luke Gilford’s work. I really enjoyed reading the written statements about this work by other scholars. It was also nice to learn about the queer rodeo association that these series of photos revolves around.
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Solluna
3.0 out of 5 stars Wanted More
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2020
Verified Purchase
Was disappointed there was no text or description to accompany the pictures. Beautiful pictures, no context.
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S. H.
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful important photos
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2021
Verified Purchase
It’s a gorgeous book with photographs of a community that is displayed with respect and tenderness.
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Tommy Navarre
1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2020
Verified Purchase
This book was so disappointing. Not really many photos in what seems like something that should be a visual exploration, and perhaps not a single smile from any model...did the author ask them all to snarl. I threw the book away after leafing through it.
One person found this helpful
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Tommy J.
1.0 out of 5 stars Do not recommend.
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2020
The quality of the book is poor.
One person found this helpful
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LAS456
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Art Book
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2021
I got this photo book for my son as an early Valentine’s Day gift. It’s so beautiful and I know he will appreciate it on his coffee table. He loves it
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Symbaern
2.0 out of 5 stars Décevant
Reviewed in France on February 17, 2021
Verified Purchase
Le livre est de bonne facture mais les photos sont plutôt décevantes à mon goût. On a l'impression qu'elles auraient pu être faites par un photographe amateur quelconque. Je ne vois pas vraiment de travail de composition... Dommage.
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