Photographer Blake Little’s work has been coveted by clients like 20th Century Studios and Warner Bros. for decades. His portraiture has captured celebrities including Tom Cruise, Jane Fonda, Samuel L. Jackson and more, with award-winning work appearing in outlets like Entertainment Weekly, People Magazine and TIME.
Among his most intimate photos are those featured in his touring collections like “Photographs from the Gay Rodeo.” The 41 black-and-white images were captured between 1988 and 1992 and highlight the International Gay Rodeo Association’s impact on the American West.
The nonprofit has promoted the LGBTQ western lifestyle by producing inclusive rodeos since 1976. Little’s collection highlights events from Oklahoma to California and will be featured at the James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art this fall.
“We are proud to host this exhibition celebrating diversity in the West,” James Museum Curator Emily Kapes says. “With so many different perspectives within the Western experience, we see this exhibition as an opportunity to feature the gay community, create dialogue and inform museum visitors on these little-known competitions.”
The exhibit is also a summation of Little’s own experiences at the rodeo, chronicling his own participation. “The sport, camaraderie and atmosphere of this first rodeo experience transformed me,” he reflects. “I was completely drawn to it and I had to be a part of it. I wanted to be a cowboy.
“These photographs represent an amazing, magical time in my life,” he continues. “Back then, I questioned if I was a ‘real’ cowboy because in the back of my mind I always felt like an
observer … But my unique situation allowed me to document the growing sport of gay rodeo from the inside along with the thrills and personal challenges of fulfilling my cowboy dreams.”
It’s also a testament to the resilience of the LGBTQ community. “Take a good look at their faces,” Little has stressed. “It took tremendous courage for them to just be themselves while creating their own version of a traditional American sport in the intolerant world of the late ‘80s.”
Blake Little’s “Photographs from the Gay Rodeo” runs until Jan. 31 at The James Museum in St. Petersburg. For more Fall Arts listings, click here.
