The current fall group show at SF Camerawork seems eerily in tune with this moment in history as the struggle for marriage equality rages on, as the wretched "don't ask, don't tell" policy has just been upheld, and as stories of gay teen suicides fill the news. Curators Danny Orendorff and Adrienne Skye Roberts have brought together 16 photographers, activists, and film and video artists in an exhibition that explores the public-facing lives of gay individuals and communities. The first part of the show focuses on activism and education and includes Steven Miller's beautiful large-scale photographs (pictured here) of couples very publicly displaying their affection as well as Tara Mateik's hilarious investigations into gender and an intensely moving piece by Killer Banshee about a personal experience with police brutality. Kirstyn Russell's cleverly framed photos are a highlight of the next part of the exhibition that addresses gay community as she uncovers unintentionally queer moments in signage all over America, and several of her images are available on a postcard rack to take away with you. Participation is also encouraged in the final section of the show (themed around alternative world-making) in Aay Preston-Myint's subversive on-site photo studio that features an eye-popping selection of brightly-colored backdrops, costumes, and props visitors use to create their own "family" photos. The results on display in the gallery and on the Web hint at the wonderful variety of relationships and social contracts in our modern world, and like the exhibition as a whole calls for ever more visibility as a path to equality. Like the title of one of Miller's pictures declares: If You See It, Darling, Then It's There.
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