In what way can a photography collection at one of London’s most prestigious museums authentically narrate queer history? It is a question I asked myself while reading the fascinating new book, Calling the Shots: A Queer History of Photography. Written by curators Zorian Clayton, Lydia Caston and Hana Kaluznick, it employs the Victoria and Albert Museum’s (V&A) photographic archive to chart this history.
A museum collection like the V&A’s has wealthy, western privileges which arguably limit the different ways in which their photographs are interpreted. So I was interested to see how the authors would employ this valuable museum collection while grappling with its implicit issues of power, inclusion and representation.
The book splits its analysis into six key sections: Icons, Staged, Body, Liberty, Making A Scene and Beyond The Frame. Crucial themes develop throughout the book as each section builds on the one before. The final three chapters focus more on photography’s capacity to affect social change and advocate for the queer community.
