mighty real/queer detroit at the scarab club
I’ll Be Your Mirror--Reflections of the Contemporary Queer
“At the start of the 20th century, the queer presence — the “love that dared not speak its name” — was socially shunned, medically pathologized and legally criminalized. To be queer was to be an outsider in a manner deeper than politics. One ducked and steeled oneself alone or gathered in small rural or urban enclaves, stitched together like an Underground Railroad.
The exception was the world of art.
For queers, art offered a realm where you could confront and express yourself freely when all other opportunities were unavailable.” –Patrick Burton and Jeff Britting
Meticulous rendering in complementary colors glorify the impeccably dressed character who has emerged from a chrysalis into a dapper, fully realized human being. Crowned from above, a prince riding a newly born butterfly, presumably from the hand of an angelic painter, is a heaven-sent declaration.
This photograph is solely secured with magnets so displayed during a particularly hot and humid week in Detroit rendered it a bit wavy. Other than the distracting glare, the added curves almost add to an image composed to notice form before subject.
Annie Meyer has a few pieces in this show all with similarly soft, rounded forms. Notguy 33 & 34 are separate entities caught in a warm embrace creating a new configuration. Some random distressing reveals light coloration and texture to an otherwise smooth surface.
Painting on unprimed canvas is tricky due to the highly porous surface. Any mark made can’t be changed or removed. Minor wrinkling and rippled edges indicate some shrinking of the material due to necessary liquidity to achieve the transparency of the figures concealed behind a heavily painted tranquil landscape.
The range of work in this year’s MRQD event illustrates there are as many ways of expressing the Queer experience as there are participants. A viewer willing to explore their own predilections can easily find themselves mirrored in this groundbreaking exhibition.
Participating Artists: Erin Brott, Liz Collins, John de Fazio, Duncan Hannah, Cliff Hengst, Scott Hewicker, Maggie Hubbard, George Platt Lynes, Peter McGough, Annie Meyer, Joe Ovelman, Connie Samaras, Jeannette Spicer, Carl Van Vechten, Wilhelm Von Gloeden, Patrick Webb.
On view through June 30th at the Scarab Club 217 Farnsworth Detroit
*images are mine
direct quote from Pride Source
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SHOWS OPEN THIS WEEKEND