Description
Book SynopsisIn Bloodflowers W. Ian Bourland examines the photography of Rotimi Fani-Kayode (1955–1989), whose art is a touchstone for cultural debates surrounding questions of gender and queerness, race and diaspora, aesthetics and politics, and the enduring legacy of slavery and colonialism. Born in Nigeria, Fani-Kayode moved between artistic and cultural worlds in Washington, DC, New York, and London, where he produced the bulk of his provocative and often surrealist and homoerotic photographs of black men. Bourland situates Fani-Kayode''s work in a time of global transition and traces how it exemplified and responded to profound social, cultural, and political change. In addition to his formal analyses of Fani-Kayode''s portraiture, Bourland outlines the important influence that surrealism, neo-Romanticism, Yoruban religion, the AIDS crisis, experimental film, loft culture, and house and punk music had on Fani-Kayode''s work. In so doing, Bourland offers new perspectives on a
Trade Review
"Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals." -- E. Baden * Choice *
“Bourland’s book is a welcome showcase and exploration of Fani-Kayode’s work, especially in these times of renewed homophobia and racism.” -- Rachel Jagareski * Foreword *
"Bloodflowers is a rich and detailed study of the photographer Rotimi Fani-Kayode. . . . Bourland’s bookprovides much that will be of interest to students of photography and visual culture. . . ." -- Darren Newbury * Journal of British Studies *
“The real strength of Bloodflowers resides in Bourland’s descriptive capabilities and the care he gives to a Black artist who has not been granted the scholarly attention he deserves. Known for stunningly beautiful, conceptually rich photographs of Black men, Fani-Kayode created images that are at once steeped in complex symbolism while also semiotically porous in their surrealism: a contradiction that Bourland unpacks with great critical sophistication.” -- Derek Conrad Murray * Art Bulletin *
“The brilliance of Bourland’s book is in the range of its learnedness. Its promise, though, lies in its wide applicability. The book should be read not simply for its bearing on Fani-Kayode. It should be engaged as a model for a deeply interdisclipinary and historically attuned art history and criticism.” -- Roderick A. Ferguson * Nka *
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction. Nothing to Lose 1
Exposure 1. Brixton 23
Exposure 2. Rage and Desire 58
Exposure 3. Magnolia Air 91
Exposure 4. The Queen Is Dead 146
Exposure 5. Mirror Worlds 171
Exposure 6. Night Moves 209
Epilogue. Homecoming 250
Notes 257
Bibliography 291
Index 305
