The sculpture, Gay Liberatn, was created by Gee Segal (BA ’49), who earned a gree art tn om NYU’s School of Edutn.
Contents:
- HOW GAY LIBERATN CHANGED THE ART WORLD
- ON THE ENDURG LEGACY OF “GAY LIBERATN,” A SCULPTURE BY GEE SEGAL (BA ’49)
HOW GAY LIBERATN CHANGED THE ART WORLD
"Queer Art" beme a powerful polil and celebratory term to scribe the art and experience of gay, lbian+ people. * gay liberation art *
Society didn’t sh to embrace queer muni after the 1969 rts that llectively beme known as Stonewall, but at least a harassed mory group fally had a name, a voice, and eventually, a even if ernment-sponsored harassment didn’t sudnly stop—the rts began bee of a police raid on a gay bar the Wt Village lled the Stonewall Inn—Stonewall was, at the very least, an ditor that thgs were begng to change.
Summary of Queer ArtAny art that n be nsired "queer" refers to the re-appropriatn of the term the 1980s, when was snatched back om the homophob and opprsors to bee a powerful polil and celebratory term to scribe the experience of gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr, and tersex people. Sce the late 19th century, cultural and legal rpons to homosexualy have evolved, but was only the send half of the 20th century that many of the laws crimalizg homosexual acts were overturned. It wasn't until the late 20th century that homosexualy was no longer nsired a pathology by psychiatrists, and wasn't until the 21st century that marriage rights were granted to same-sex upl.
Key Ias & Acplishments Bee of the early crimalizatn of homosexual acts and the social stigma nnected to homosexualy, much Queer Art employs d visual language that would not aroe spicn among the general public but would allow those faiar wh the trop of the subculture to glean the hidn the rise of activism the wake of the Civil Rights protts and the AIDS epimic, Queer Art beme more ank and polil s subject matter, forcg the viewers to regnize queer culture and to unrsre the stutnal equi and hypocrisy that fueled Inty Polics surroundg Queer Art has sparked much bate, wh some artists embracg Inty Polics and other chewg as not important for their work. The artist referred to as the uple's "marriage" picture, s before gay marriage would bee an accepted norm. Male homosexualy was a crimal offense and there was no acceptable vobulary for beg lbian or transgenr.
ON THE ENDURG LEGACY OF “GAY LIBERATN,” A SCULPTURE BY GEE SEGAL (BA ’49)
It was spired by late 19th-century photographs by Eadweard Muybridge of two men wrtlg, but here the tangled sheets atop the bed make the homosexual meang clear. Howe says, "Ban was probably aware that he was buildg upon athetic trop of classil wrtlg ed sce the neteenth century as ver emblems of homosexualy..
" Ban was an openly gay man, and as a teenager he was thrown out of the fay home when he was ught tryg on his mother's unrwear. Durg a time when one had to be reful about openly sharg one's sexualy, Hockney scribed his work as "homosexual propaganda. " His work was pecially darg, as he explored notns of gay sexualy patg before sodomy was crimalized the Uned Kgdom 1967.
Queer theorist Cathere Howe explas that Hockney often borrowed imagery om physique magaz, which while ostensibly about men's sports were terg to homosexual men. Mapplethorpe's photography pictg still lif of flowers, celebry and Royal Fay portraure, and pictur of children are well-loved, but his powerful and subversive imag of homoerotic subjects are most notable their power to dramatilly alter perceptns and ph boundari. It was work that ptured social change real life and brought the gay experience to the light for all to see - enuragg members of the gay muny to e out of the shadows.