Date of Award

Spring 5-10-2023

Author's School

Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts

Author's Department

Graduate School of Art

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Visual Art

Degree Type

Thesis

Abstract

In this text, I explore the potential for interwar European art to serve as a catalyst for the contemporary Queer rights movement. Drawing on the works of Remy Jungerman, LJ Roberts, michá cardenas, and Joar Nango, alongside the insights of Queer theorists Lisa Duggan and José Esteban Muñoz, I analyze my own artwork and the way I remix elements of both Russian Constructivism and Queer culture.

Amidst the current proliferation of anti-Queer violence and legislation, I highlight the importance of safeguarding Queer spaces and communities. To this end, I collect Queer objects and organize them into an arsenal of triangular and militaristic constructions. Building off the symbolic history of the pink and black triangles, I claim all triangles for Queer peoples and see them as the shape that will bring forward a Queer utopia.

However, history has shown that utopian ideals can quickly become threatened without proper protection. In response, I utilize the forms of battlefield fortifications to defend Queer spaces and their utopian potential. Through this approach, I aim to empower Queer communities and foster a brighter future for all.

Language

English

Program Chair

Lisa Bulawsky

Thesis Text Advisor

Lisa Bulawsky

Thesis Text Advisor

Monika Weiss

Faculty Mentor

Lisa Bulawsky

Committee Member

Amy Hauft

Committee Member

Arny Nadler

Committee Member

Heather Bennett

Committee Member

Ila Sheren

Artist's Statement

What is the difference between making art and trying to start a revolution?

I argue that they can be one and the same.

In objection to historic and continued abuses toward Queer peoples, I collect Queer materials and organize them into a growing arsenal of assemblages and constructions, which I call Queer Revolutionary Objects (QROs). The Queerness of the objects and materials in my works comes from my own understanding of “Queerness”. I define Queerness as an attribute that extends past the realms of sexuality and gender identity. To be Queer is to be abandoned, broken, hidden, discarded, and/or confined. Using my experience-focused definition, I source Queer materials from a diverse array of origins: plywood from scrap bins, steel from bed frames, spindles from staircases, and fragments of broken mirrors to name a few.

During the Holocaust, the Nazis used a system of colored triangles to codify people they saw as inferior; Pink and Black were assigned to Queer people. Building off the work of Holocaust survivors and AIDS activists who symbolically reclaimed the Pink and Black triangles, I claim all triangles for Queer people. While using pyramids, tripods, and other triangular forms as the base structures for my QROs, I exclaim triangles to be a counterpoint to the binary. Triangles are easily recognizable despite their differences and are extremely strong, balanced, and withstanding. I see triangles as the shape that will bring forward a Queer utopia.

In the vein of bringing forward a Queer utopia, all my QROs are nomadic. All my larger works are easily assembled and disassembled, often using only a handful of bolts.

I use this design feature intentionally not only as it relates to the military-like mobilization needed for battlefield structures, but also as a reference to the Queer experience of relocating in search of acceptance, love, or to escape violence.

The titling of my works often references Queer and revolutionary histories, cultures, and aesthetics. My work P.A.F. Beacon (Assembly Required) is a reference to the Red Army Faction, a West German urban guerrilla group from the 1970s. Other works reference figures like Sappho of Lesbos and Disco hits like Boogie Wonderland.

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