The photograph Bill Lipkind 10 (1960), by Aaron Siskind, provides a divergent narrative of the photographer. The photograph, which depicts a nude male, problematizes an artist and artwork traditionally seen as Abstract Expressionist in a culture of homophobic Post-War American art. Consideration of Siskind as a heterosexual Abstract Expressionist photographer has continued to restrict the complexity of his work while further entrenching this narrative of the artist. This thesis argues that in order to better "resolve the tension" within Siskind's photography, we must degender our understanding of the sexualized gaze. Rather than heterosexualizing or homosexualizing the image, I employ Eve Sedgwick's homosocial lens to analyze the photograph. This homosocial context is formed using in-depth analysis of the image, an exploration of previous scholarship of Siskind's work, the unique relationship between photographer and subject, and consideration of how an understanding of an artist's sexuality colors interpretation of image making. Furthermore, this thesis contextualizes Siskind within the Post-War American art world, proposing possible reasons for both the photograph's production as well as reasons for the gendered reading of such imagery. My analysis of Bill Lipkind 10 also serves as a template for other works straddling what is straight enough for Post-War American art consideration and what is gay enough under Queer Theory's purview.
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