The Nuts and Bolts of Male Friendship: Photographs & Interviews

The Nuts and Bolts of Male Friendship: Photographs and Interviews is an examination of the verbal and non-verbal fields between two men who define their relations as a platonic same-sex friendship. The photography studio was used to conduct an interview and portrait. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. During the photo shoot, I did not give any specific direction in terms of body or facial expression/position. For the first section, I asked the men to construct 5 different poses that they would like to do together, which is titled “Impromptu Poses.” The second section, titled “Historical Poses,” is based on a book of portraits of men in the studio from the mid 1800’s to the early 1900’s. The book featured an array of 30 photographs with the subjects in a variety of poses from standing side by side to holding hands. I asked the men to choose 5 poses they would like to perform. This book is a collection of four friendships that range in length from 5 months to 15 years.