Collection of the University of Pittsburgh Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA. Gift of Daniel D. Teoli, Jr. in honor of Alfred Eisenstaedt and Andreas Feininger
2016.5.11
Jennifur, Los Angeles, California
1974 (Date created)
Inkjet print
11 in W
x
14 in H
(Paper)
7.125 in W x 11.75 in H (Image)
7.125 in W x 11.75 in H (Image)
American
Although the gender identity of its subject has not been confirmed, Jennifur appears to depict a drag performer whose appearance encompasses contradictory feminine and masculine qualities. The sitter does not look directly into the camera as their portrait is being taken. Their wig is in a beehive style more popular a decade before this photograph was taken and similar to that of Gertrude Quastler’s Bikini Blonde, also in the UAG collection. Jennifur both follows feminine stereotypes and transcends their limits. With dark eyeliner, an unshaven face, and pouting lips, the sitter wears a graduated pearl necklace probably made from cheap plastic. The strap of the subject’s plain, shabby bra appears to have snapped, and seem be tied back together with a makeshift knot. Adding to their androgynous identity, the sitter has not shaved their body, and it is this "fur" that title of the photograph might reference. The pose of the sitter combines with the outdated wig, plastic necklace, and tattered bra on an otherwise masculine-presenting body to make the viewer question whether or not Jennifur is an image of a drag persona or a someone's everyday attire. The photograph might have been taken before or after a performance, and the portrait could have been made in front of a curtain on stage or behind the scenes.
Daniel D. Teoli, Jr is a self-taught social documentary photographer and archivist who graduated from California State University in Los Angeles, California. Teoli began working with photography in the mid-1960s. His work is held in collections including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, and the collection of New York University. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Teoli worked to document the people and street life in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Hollywood. Throughout the series Gender Benders from the 1970s, which includes Jennifur, Teoli depicts people in bars, at pageants, and in domestic settings. Teoli does not appear to have interviewed any of his subjects, so details concerning their gender identity or sexuality are not recorded. “For the most part, I had always been uninvolved with my subjects,” Teoli has explained. "My goal was to get as close as was needed to get the shot, all the while staying undercover.”[1] In line with this approach, Teoli acknowledges that his work is about visual documentation rather than the stories of his subjects.[2] As a result, Teoli tends to present his subjects in an isolated position, surrounded only by their counterparts in other photographs from the series.
While Teoli may have recorded an otherwise undocumented moment in queer history with Jennifur, the missing contextual information about the sitter creates an aspect of uncomfortable voyeurism that would be unacceptable in the documentation of queer communities today.
[1] Teoli, Daniel D. “Biography of Daniel D.Teoli Jr.” Biography of Daniel D.Teoli Jr., biographyofdanieldteolijr.tumblr.com/
[2] Teoli, Danielteolijr D. “Gender Benders from the 1970's.” Daniel D. Teoli Jr., Self Published, 26 Nov. 2017, danielteolijr.wordpress.com/2015/05/16/genders-benders-from-the-1970s/
Author: Emma Vescio - Spring 2018
Daniel D. Teoli, Jr is a self-taught social documentary photographer and archivist who graduated from California State University in Los Angeles, California. Teoli began working with photography in the mid-1960s. His work is held in collections including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, and the collection of New York University. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Teoli worked to document the people and street life in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Hollywood. Throughout the series Gender Benders from the 1970s, which includes Jennifur, Teoli depicts people in bars, at pageants, and in domestic settings. Teoli does not appear to have interviewed any of his subjects, so details concerning their gender identity or sexuality are not recorded. “For the most part, I had always been uninvolved with my subjects,” Teoli has explained. "My goal was to get as close as was needed to get the shot, all the while staying undercover.”[1] In line with this approach, Teoli acknowledges that his work is about visual documentation rather than the stories of his subjects.[2] As a result, Teoli tends to present his subjects in an isolated position, surrounded only by their counterparts in other photographs from the series.
While Teoli may have recorded an otherwise undocumented moment in queer history with Jennifur, the missing contextual information about the sitter creates an aspect of uncomfortable voyeurism that would be unacceptable in the documentation of queer communities today.
[1] Teoli, Daniel D. “Biography of Daniel D.Teoli Jr.” Biography of Daniel D.Teoli Jr., biographyofdanieldteolijr.tumblr.com/
[2] Teoli, Danielteolijr D. “Gender Benders from the 1970's.” Daniel D. Teoli Jr., Self Published, 26 Nov. 2017, danielteolijr.wordpress.com/2015/05/16/genders-benders-from-the-1970s/
Author: Emma Vescio - Spring 2018
Daniel D. Teoli, Jr.
Jennifur 1974
Inkjet print
2016.5.11
The title of ‘Jennifur’ seems reference the sitter’s body hair – and may not be their preferred name. Like many of the photographs of Los Angeles drag performers and transgender people in Teoli’s series Gender Benders of the 1970s, the identity of this subject is not known. (This is Not Ideal, Fall 2018)
Jennifur 1974
Inkjet print
2016.5.11
The title of ‘Jennifur’ seems reference the sitter’s body hair – and may not be their preferred name. Like many of the photographs of Los Angeles drag performers and transgender people in Teoli’s series Gender Benders of the 1970s, the identity of this subject is not known. (This is Not Ideal, Fall 2018)
In Collection
Daniel D. Teoli, Jr. (2016)
This is not Ideal: Gender Myths and their Transformation. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh University Art Gallery. 2018. Exhibition catalogue. Published on the occasion of the student-curated exhibition This is not Ideal: Gender Myths and Their Transformation at the University Art Gallery, University of Pittsburgh, October 26-December 7, 2018. University Art Gallery. Frick Fine Arts Building, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA 15260 ISBN: 978-1-7329013-0-8
Please note that cataloging is ongoing and that some information may not be complete.