It’s all sorts of gay at Atlantic Works gallery. Literally. On August 9th, the East Boston art space unveils its new show, the simply, explosively entitled “Gay”.
About two dozen artists were given a simple assignment: depict the word “gay”, according to the gallery’s website. And with varying results:
Presentations stretch from a queer riddle of the sphinx, to a lascivious Craigslist montage to an actual closet that urges the viewer to stay huddled inside. The full spectrum of GAY will be shown…
No, “gay” activist Sean Lund didn’t make the cut.
Surprisingly, not all of the artists are gay. In fact, only four qualify as queer – a disproportion the gallery says gives the show “a visionary twist and hetero vantage”. One of the gay artists, Eric Hess, tells Edge Boston the straight spin has already caused some controversy, but not in the way one would expect:
[One] straight artist I have been working with is really learning a lot about how it feels to be gay…one of the group members who is straight experienced homophobia simply getting the show card printed at Kinko’s. It has set up amazing conversations and is just heating up. All of this in gay-marriage-friendly, liberal Massachusetts.
While some are broadening their perspectives, Hess says other townsfolk aren’t as enthusiastic to learn.
One Boston cable show thought coverage of GAY was not suitable to daytime programming simply from hearing the title.
Obviously the word gay isn’t as innocuous as some would think.
(Story image via Eric Hess’ Atlantic Works page.)
Martini-boy
I bet you this show will feature zero images depicting people of colour.
I also bet you this show will feature zero images of obese bodies, unless the body belongs to a hairy bear.
I have a feeling the show will just perpetuate the stereotypes, thus making it a show of hot air.
thatguyfromboston
I tell you what. I’ll go check it out and report back. and I won’t go in with pre-conceived ideas of what I might or might not see. which is what i like about art shows you just never know what your gonna find.
Martini-boy
Good idea!
Make sure to take some photos,
since I won’t be able to make it.
thatguyfromboston
if it’s allowed i’d love to
Gregg
Martini-boy – guess what? Martinis are a gay stereotype too! So you fit right in.
I’m all for fighting racism, but to pre-judge an art exhibition with no idea what you might see there is pretty Jesse-Helms-ish of you. Speaking of Mr. Helms – didn’t he try to ban gay exhibitions featuring the work of Mapplethorpe? And we all know that Mapplethorpe only used white people as models. Oh wait, no, he had tons of gorgeous photos of people of color.
Get over your racist self.
And we should celebrate obesity, why?
afrolito
I completely agree with Martini-boy. Why is he racist for pointing out the obvious? One doesn’t have to smell shit to know it stinks. You just need a pair of eyes to see that the dominant representations of the “gay community” are about as colorful as a bowl of milk.
cjc
Gregg, he’s not talking about “celebrating” obesity–he’s talking about a fuller representation of gay people, which includes people who don’t meet the idealized body type.
Martini-boy
Gregg, guess what! My username has nothing to do with Martinis. It’s actually the nickname my friends have given me, which is a play on my real name, Martin. Nice attempt to stir shit up, though.
And thanks to afrolito and cjc for reading between the lines. As for prejudging exhibits: I can pretty much sense when a ‘cliché’ exhibit is underway just by the title. After all, after years of work as a curator and art critic, I have a pretty acute awareness of how to smell these things from far away. Not that the featured photo does anything to counteract my argument…
applemartini
If this were a piece of journalism or something which attempted to give an objective depiction of the ‘gay community’, then yes, an argument for a wide representation of racial and physical diversity would be appropriate.
But this is an art show. The artists are under no obligation to depict anything but their own artistic visions.
I find it sad and quite unbelievable that a purported curator and art critic would leave such comments without even seeing the work, aside from one featured photograph. Any serious, professional, and respected curator/critic would see the show before passing such judgment, and even so, would probably not waste his or her time leaving comments on forums such as these.
I for one am willing to ‘celebrate’ whatever the artists had in mind, and I could care less how cliché and stereotypical it may be (though until I see the show of course I won’t claim to know what to expect).