New roles for camera and conscience

Photographer Gabriel Brandt is trying to stop throwing away his own art. "It's a sort of neurosis," explains the first-year graduate student in photography. "I become disinterested in the work, or see its imperfections. I no longer feel that it is engaging." Consequently, Brandt says that a large portion of his finished works end up in the garbage. Of those works which meet the approval of his perfectionist eye, he keeps only one print--the others get trashed as well.

Brandt is exhibiting his surviving photographs this weekend in Silliman's Maya's Room gallery, on the fourth floor of Byers Hall. The exhibit is a sampling of works from his midterm and portfolio; the latter collection earned him one of this year's eight spots for photography in the Graduate School of Art.

The exhibit, with images ranging from drag queens to boxers, focuses mainly on the male nude, tending toward the homoerotic, Brandt said. "My art is part of coming to terms with my own sexuality, and trying to understand myself--to get to know myself, if that is possible," he said. In many ways, he continued, his work "explores the fine line that differentiates sensuality and eroticism from pornography."

Photography entered Brandt's life just two-and-a-half years ago. Raised by German parents in Argentina, Brandt moved with his family 10 years ago to the U.S., where he attended the University of Nevada at Reno and studied history and art history. However, one semester before graduation he realized that, academically, he had been simply "following a road that my parents wanted me to." Deciding to pursue a lifelong "attraction to the arts," Brandt "dropped everything and enrolled in 15 art credits," including his first photography class. A self-described "key looking for the right lock," Brandt had found his calling.

When looking for a Master of Fine Arts Program that suited him, Brandt narrowed his options down to one: Yale. "It's the only school I wanted," he said. Were he not accepted, he would have reconsidered his future plans. Two months into the program, Brandt said the program has more than met his high expectations. Weekly critiques of three-and-a-half to four hours, individual mentoring from professors, and ample opportunity to exhibit has made his initial impression favorable.

Part of Brandt's growth as a photographer has come from Yale's "encouragement to shoot more and more," he said. Just as he kept few developed photos, Brandt was also accustomed to shooting few images in the first place. "I don't usually carry my camera around," he said. "But here I've been encouraged to do that." Some of the exhibit's photos are fruits of this new attitude.

He began to "find a vision" for himself as an artist at a time when "the Christian Right was attacking any work by artists with gay or homoerotic themes," Brandt said. A recent series of 12 photos explored Christianity and homosexuality. Brandt began the project after hearing Pat Robertson's former ghostwriter, who had since come out of the closet, speak in Reno. The speech "impressed and frightened," Brandt, and the photos have allowed him to explore these complex reactions.

Though his work is largely aimed at combating anti-gay prejudice, Brandt denies the charge of being a political artist. "I do like to work on themes that have political ramifications," he said, "but I don't believe in labels. I am actually conservative on many issues--I try to maintain a balance."

Brandt hopes that his work will influence viewers, but he remains realistic about the potential of photography to affect large groups of people, especially with the influence of modern culture. "A successful exhibit at MOMA [the Museum of Modern Art, in New York City] draws 200,000 people," he explained. "But TV and video are a way to reach millions. However, even though we are advanced in technology and computer manipulation of images is almost routine, the majority of people believe that photography is a literal medium for recording the truth."

Though he does hope to use the photographic medium as a so-called "tool of enlightenment," Brandt also contended that "I don't have an audience in mind, at least not consciously.... My ultimate goal is to take photos that are pure poetry to look at."

But even his photographic poetry stands a high risk of ending up tossed at the bottom of Brandt's trash can--although he conceded, with a smile, "I'm trying to stop doing that."