A woman is perched in a provocative pose on a stool. Behind her, another figure is nothing but a blur of dark hair. A cat lounges on the gathered folds of the window drapes, the linen fabric so thin that light shines through. The picture is fluid, messy and alluring.
This monochrome portrait is just one of hundreds that photographer Madalena Schwartz captured of the 2SLGBTQ+ community in the 1970s.
The 2025 Marston LaFrance Lecture on March 13 centered around Schwartz and photographer Lisetta Carmi’s work in capturing the queer art, culture and social movements in the 1970s to 80s.
At the lecture, this year’s Marston LaFrance fellow professor Jennifer Evans spoke about her research and next book, Full Frontal: a New History of the Sexual Revolution, which studies the parallel lives of Schwartz and Carmi in their respective countries of Brazil and Italy.
During her lecture, Evans said neither woman felt as if they belonged in their countries, as they were refugees during a post-war period dominated by authoritarianism and dictatorship. Although they were middle-class, the women found resonance and companionship in the queer community that was pushed to the fringes of society.
The community quickly became the muses of both women’s work. By participating in their subjects’ lives, the photographers built trust and affection. The strong bonds allowed them to echo the community’s experiences and sentiments in their work.
“The intimate moments among friends in their apartments were the products of cherished personal connections,” Evans said.
She said the women tried to “reclaim individuality and expression” of gender-fluidity, free from societal expectation and the “limits of acceptability.”
This approach to photography allowed them to explore the originality of gender expression of the time through art.
“It was interesting seeing the different kinds of gender nonconformity depicted, the ways they use photography as a medium to do that,” said Aidan Power, a master’s student in public history.
At the time, Evans said gender nonconformity was permitted only as a performance, not as an identity. The women’s work showed the transformation of queer culture beyond the history paved by an oppressive regime.
“This wasn’t just an art practice,” Evans said. “In an era of ongoing dictatorship, showcasing gender and sexual freedom was also existential.”
According to Evans, the photos allowed their subjects to lay claim “to a sense of themselves,” capturing a hidden narrative that would have otherwise been lost to decades of repression, hate and policing.
Evans said she believes that uncovering these images is integral to understanding the history of queer identity.
“The importance of the work that professor Evans is doing is highlighting different ways of thinking about art and photos and how they can be a way to give visibility to people,” said attendee Jason Bennett.
Evans agrees that photography continues to be an important part of cataloguing stories in a time of political conflict, climate change and increasing polarization. They cement an existence in time and allow society to reflect from the future, she said
“We believe ourselves to be in a moment of openness … We believe to be at the furthest reaches of liberalism around images,” Evans said. “And yet, my book also shows that it’s a constant struggle.
“There are moments of liberation and moments of repression. And so if we can draw on these lessons from the past, maybe we can work through some of the challenges ahead.”
Featured image provided by Emma Fraser.
