Pride on Public Display is a curated exhibition showcasing the work of 6 LGBTQ+ artists including Hayden Stern, Jessica Marie Mercy, Kelly Bjork, Kerstin Graudins, Shayla C Hufana, & Stephen Bader. While each of the artists were inspired by the concept of gay pride, the results are surprising. From imaginative type treatments to bold illustrations to self portrait depictions to iconic imagery, each artist has fully embraced the opportunity to create his/her/their own daringly unique work of art. The divergence in direction represents acceptance among the LGBTQ+ community to honor the contributions of oneself to the collective experience.

Result #1

Pride on Public Display is a curated exhibition showcasing the work of 6 LGBTQ+ artists including Hayden Stern, Jessica Marie Mercy, Kelly Bjork, Kerstin Graudins, Shayla C Hufana, & Stephen Bader. While each of the artists were inspired by the concept of gay pride, the results are surprising. From imaginative type treatments to bold illustrations to self portrait depictions to iconic imagery, each artist has fully embraced the opportunity to create his/her/their own daringly unique work of art. The divergence in direction represents acceptance among the LGBTQ+ community to honor the contributions of oneself to the collective experience. The work of all 6 is an imaginative attempt to create a queer art that can be perceived and experienced both as a declaration of identity and as a response to homophobia and other forms of intolerance. The self-portrait of Miranda July and Erin Kinard is the most successful work in this exhibition, as it is a bold statement about lesbian and gay pride. July and Kinard have both had an opportunity to participate in the celebration of LGBT pride, but in their works, they have transformed this moment into an ongoing, public celebration of all those who are allied in support of gay rights. In Kinards case, the presentation of her body as a freeform with the words I am in love with is a direct declaration of her love for her lover. In Julys work, she has replaced her lover with herself, as she did in the piece Rainbow Portraits, 1994. In this piece, the artist has been subjected to a series of photographs taken of her body in various states of undress. In the process, her body becomes a metaphor for a series of empty signs. Although both bodies and the body of an artist are empty in these images, the artist is the one who has no body.In the same way, the self portrait of Kerstin Graudin is also an affirmation of herself, and of all people. Graudin, who is a painter in training, has become the quintessential self-portraitist, as evidenced in the photographic self-portraits, which are made by taking pictures of herself in various poses. One self portrait is a self-portrait in one of the many ways that artists have used self-portraiture, using both self-portraiture as a means of self-portraiture and self-portraiture as an attempt to manifest the self in the gallery and the public.

Result #2

Pride on Public Display is a curated exhibition showcasing the work of 6 LGBTQ+ artists including Hayden Stern, Jessica Marie Mercy, Kelly Bjork, Kerstin Graudins, Shayla C Hufana, & Stephen Bader. While each of the artists were inspired by the concept of gay pride, the results are surprising. From imaginative type treatments to bold illustrations to self portrait depictions to iconic imagery, each artist has fully embraced the opportunity to create his/her/their own daringly unique work of art. The divergence in direction represents acceptance among the LGBTQ+ community to honor the contributions of oneself to the collective experience. For example, Mercy uses her own body as a point of departure. Mercy has said, I made a painting to be about my body. She paints herself as a painting is a painting. Mercy paints herself as a body. Mercy does not paint who she is, but rather a body. Mercy paints herself as the body is a body. Mercy is one of the few artists who express the personal struggle of coming out. In her self-portraits, Mercy, like her sisters, is often seen as the subject of her own creation.In her latest self-portraits, Mercy demonstrates the continued vitality of the body as a tool in the artists toolbox. In these works, she portrays herself as a lesbian, her vagina as a womans womb, her body as a woman, her hands as hands. In her most recent work, Mercy offers more of the body as an apparatus for her own desire. This is evident in the images of her hands in which she has used her own body as the instrument of her participation in rituals. A large gouache painting is titled Hand/Mouth/Hands and shows the artists red-handled paintbrush as a hand holding a paintbrush. The figures fingers are exposed, suggesting the agency of the hand as a tool of liberation. Mercy paints her body in a way that is both intimate and public, and as such she makes visible the relationship of her own desires to the body and its supplies.In her most recent work, Mercy has also turned to herself as a subject. She portrays herself as a close-up of her hands, fingers pointing out. In this piece, she shows herself in a position of intimacy, posing with her hands clasped over her mouth. In the gesture of self-expression, Mercy is creating a statement about the loss of the body through the loss of its selfhood. The hand is both a device for the self to embody and a tool of control over the other.

Result #3

Pride on Public Display is a curated exhibition showcasing the work of 6 LGBTQ+ artists including Hayden Stern, Jessica Marie Mercy, Kelly Bjork, Kerstin Graudins, Shayla C Hufana, & Stephen Bader. While each of the artists were inspired by the concept of gay pride, the results are surprising. From imaginative type treatments to bold illustrations to self portrait depictions to iconic imagery, each artist has fully embraced the opportunity to create his/her/their own daringly unique work of art. The divergence in direction represents acceptance among the LGBTQ+ community to honor the contributions of oneself to the collective experience. The work of the more accomplished artists, who are usually the ones who carry the day, often falls short of the mark of the degree to which they truly acknowledge their social responsibility. The former members of the dominant and therefore influential art world seem not only to be consumed with the struggles of their own community but also to view themselves in the role of an untouchable hero. The most effective works in this exhibition are those by the new faces: Kelly Bjork, a talented cartoonist who brings to mind early 70s Andy Warhol, and Shayla C Hufana, a young artist who uses humor to engage with the gay community. In her comic strip Girl with Horn, 1978, a female protagonist tells of her frustration in trying to find true love. She imagines it as a bullfight and ends up in the ring, where she is knocked down to the mat by a female bullfighter, who takes her arm and wrestles with her. The punch-drunk girl turns into a matador, and she becomes the matador again, but this time she makes it back to the ring and wins. As a matador comes back, she is able to win the match with the bullfighter. The matador is the artist, and the bullfighter is the matador. The bullfighter is only a woman, and the artist, an artist.Hufana is another artist who makes it clear that the role of the artist is to be a valued member of society. In her self-portrait, she is depicted as the complete self—with the power and confidence of an athlete. In addition to the self-portrait, she portrays herself as a kind of boxer, and she takes pleasure in the fact that she is the only woman in the ring. She shows her strength and confidence and speaks about her pride in her body.

Result #4

Pride on Public Display is a curated exhibition showcasing the work of 6 LGBTQ+ artists including Hayden Stern, Jessica Marie Mercy, Kelly Bjork, Kerstin Graudins, Shayla C Hufana, & Stephen Bader. While each of the artists were inspired by the concept of gay pride, the results are surprising. From imaginative type treatments to bold illustrations to self portrait depictions to iconic imagery, each artist has fully embraced the opportunity to create his/her/their own daringly unique work of art. The divergence in direction represents acceptance among the LGBTQ+ community to honor the contributions of oneself to the collective experience. This show clearly signifies that diversity and inclusiveness are the hallmarks of the human condition and cannot be discounted. The exhibition does not simply present artists who have explored the possibilities of the gay identity genre and who have successfully questioned the boundaries of their own identities. Rather, they are among the most prolific and prolific of artists in the world who have made their private and public selves the focus of their creative endeavors.These artists may be different from one another, but their differences are acknowledged and discussed in their works. There is no hiding the fact that they have all been influenced by the multiplicity of expression that affords them the opportunity to reflect and react to the needs and desires of others. In the world of art, however, one cannot truly find expression until one is accepted as part of a community. Sexual difference is not always understood to be a positive or negative value; for example, in a group of recent self-portraits, artists such as Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Gregory Corso, and Isolde Vielmussen reveal their sexuality in their defiant, passionate portrayals of their bodies. They are not ashamed to share their private passions, and their portrayals of the body do not disguise their desire to express their homosexuality. The strength of these works is their playful disclosure of the fact that painters who depict themselves as artists do not always conform to the demands of societal stereotypes.Sophie Taeuber-Arps self-portrait has been a highlight of this exhibition, and it is an image that resonates with universal truths. Taeuber-Arp exhibits her piercing, long-handled brushstrokes in full focus as she gazes out at the viewer, her delicate hands pressed together with one hand over her head. Her expression is animated with a fierce intensity that transcends the physical limits of the picture plane.

Result #5

Pride on Public Display is a curated exhibition showcasing the work of 6 LGBTQ+ artists including Hayden Stern, Jessica Marie Mercy, Kelly Bjork, Kerstin Graudins, Shayla C Hufana, & Stephen Bader. While each of the artists were inspired by the concept of gay pride, the results are surprising. From imaginative type treatments to bold illustrations to self portrait depictions to iconic imagery, each artist has fully embraced the opportunity to create his/her/their own daringly unique work of art. The divergence in direction represents acceptance among the LGBTQ+ community to honor the contributions of oneself to the collective experience. Here, the effects of this convergence can be seen in the multidisciplinary display of work by various artists. An important facet of the work of these artists is the use of typefaces, which, in some cases, have been written by other individuals. Furthermore, there is a great deal of experimentation with collage, a genre in which many of the artists are interested. In this show, for example, three artists make collages. Mercy uses collage to deconstruct a photograph, breaking the image apart so that it can be reconstructed in an ambiguous manner. Mercy also uses collage to display multiple images that are part of the same image, thus creating a new collage with each image. Mercy uses collage to self-portraits, one of which features a hand in a handkerchief; Mercy knows that this hand is not only a reflection of himself but also of other people. Mercy uses collage to create a modernist expressionism that points to the emotional complexities of identity. Mercy uses collage to create a playful, absurdist self-portrait. Mercy uses collage to transform a photograph into a collage-like image that is both visually and conceptually complex. Mercy is also interested in collage as a means of drawing the viewer into a conversation with the viewer. Mercy also makes collages of other artists work, the collages that result from his/her process of drawing or making collages. In this show, Mercy uses collage as a vehicle for creating a provocative, sensual self-portrait. The collages that result from his/her drawing process are often deeply autobiographical, incorporating personal memories, life events, and artistic experiences. Mercy also engages in the symbolic and intellectual work of collage, with collage as a method of expressing one's own personal and cultural knowledge. Finally, Mercy has also used collage as a means of reifying the relationship between art and politics.

©2024 Lucidbeaming