Ping Pong at Art Basel Miami  12.13, Installation Photos

Round Hole, Square Peg: A New LGBT Visual Aesthetic For Century 21

Tom Of Finland’s Cover Drawing on Bob Mizer’s Physique Pictorial Magazine

The Bob Mizer-Tom of Finland exhibition at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) presents a bountiful body of gay male erotica from mid-last century. Years ago brown paper bagged portraits of male nudes moved out from porn shops into art galleries, but this is the first time an American Museum has mounted a show that shows men mounting each other.

Mizer and Finland zapped the zeitgeist of their time. They were two of the most significant figures of twentieth century erotica and forefathers of an emergent post-war gay culture. But what about today?  How do we first define, then design a LGBT paradigm for a new pictorial era?   In 2013, women, transgender people and other minorities compel visibility and depiction.

I can’t resist the obvious; it’s enough to say that the MOCA hang is very well-hung.  It’s daring, provocative and has a fun and fierce intensity, but is it contemporary? Mizer-Finland work lends a rich legacy and contextualization to gay iconography from, the before. But it leaves me wanting, the after, the now.

S.R. Sharp, vice president of the Tom of Finland board of directors told me that the art still has heat and stays current. “Maybe at first glance the exhibition seems campy or historical but though it represents a time gone by it stands up as timeless. It has an endearing and an enduring quality. Bob (Mizer) and Tom (of Finland) were combating a society where homos did not have it easy. They were forced into dark shadows; they were cowering in back alleys.”

Photo by Bob Mizer

All true. Back then to be out was to be an outlaw. MOCA’s exhibition gives the genre a curatorial cachet and establishment visibility.  And so as underground, outsider art rises up, it moves inside, museums.

“There are always people on the margins making art who want to stay underground and be alternative, “said  Sally Baxter, a mixed media artist and art editor for Suspend magazine. “It’s important not to shy away from the fact that what a makes people queer is that they have queer sex. That’s what makes us gay and I want to see it.”

David Fahey a pioneering Los Angeles gallerist who brought the world Herb Ritts, told me that that showing male nudes is not much different than showing female nudes. “After Mapplethorpe, male nudity was embraced by the mainstream, I’m happy to see that it’s pretty commonplace today,” Fahey said.

“While gay men had hyper-masculine images to drool over, lesbians always saw themselves depicted as bad girls on the covers of drug store pulp fiction novels, vampires or terrifying prison guards – straight male fantasy images, ” said Karen Ocamb, news editor for Frontiers magazine. “That’s why so many of us preferred the world of the imagination – flowers by Georgia O’Keefe or ‘The Dinner Party’ by Judy Chicago or Zena the Warrior Princess on TV.

Mei Xian Qui – The Lovers Courtesy of Paul Kopeikin Gallery

Tom of Finland and Bob Mizer created a culture of imagery that changed the way gay men saw themselves. Theirs was a world that preceded Will and Grace, gay marriage and common place sexual reassignment surgery. I left MOCA’s exhibition thinking about Round Hole, Square Peg, a show Paul Bridgewater originated at Smart Clothes, his downtown, New York City gallery. It sought a new LGBT visual Brand. Bridgewater wrote a manifesto:

Queer identity is not simply a sexual one. Queer artists have a perspective and an experience to contribute to society that is wholly their own and it’s a rich, and worldly one. Having been  marginalized  and alienated for so long  has developed  a unique  view of self worth, self image, spirituality and companionship.

Tom Atwood – Mother Flawles Sabrina From Kings and Queens in Their Castles

A hunt for new archetypes has become a preoccupation. Stephen Cohen, whose Los Angeles photography gallery exhibited Zackary Drucker’s transsexual photography, Anthony Friedkin’s “Gay Essays,” and Bruce of L.A., warmly supported the idea for a show. Cohen felt that “The search for a new template that includes the many shades of LGBT life today vs. the old stereotypes is long overdue.” And so I am working on a show for the Artist’s Corner Gallery which will be the first LGBT exhibition at photo l.a., one of the oldest fine art fairs in the country. It will feature a special invitational, Wall of Fame to hang next to a juried  exhibition.

Round Hole, Square Peg opens at photo l.a. on January 16, 2014. For information and to submit photographic work for juried selection visit: artistscorner.us

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Stop by Project Fair at Art Basel Miami, Kopeikin Gallery.

VISITOR INFORMATION

The second edition of Miami Project, a contemporary and modern art fair, will return December 3-8, 2013 in Miami’s Midtown Art District. Miami Project will again showcase 65 contemporary and modern art galleries in an exquisite setting.

Located at North 1st Avenue & NE 30th Street, Miami Project is ideally situated in the heart of Miami’s Wynwood Arts District and just two blocks from the Rubell Collection. The fair provides attendees with easy access to parking and is a short distance from excellent Midtown accommodations and dining.

Location
The Miami Project Pavilion is located at NE 29th Street and NE 1st Avenue.

Fair Hours

• Tuesday, Dec. 3th: 4:30PM – 10:00PM  Miami Project Preview
• Wednesday, Dec. 4th: 11:00AM – 5:30PM
• Thursday, Dec. 5th: 11:00AM – 7:00PM

•     Friday, Dec. 6th: 11:00AM – 8:00PM
•     Saturday, Dec. 7th: 11:00AM – 7:00PM
•     Sunday, Dec. 8th: 11:00AM – 6:00PM

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Paci Contemporary is pleased to present a special Group Show,

simultaneously with the exhibition “Enigma” by Eric Rondepierre,

to introduce the summer season.

The opening will be Thursday, July 4, 2013,

starting from 7 pm.

Artists in exhibition: S. Skoglund, M. Macku, J. Uelsmann, L. Krims, A. Tress, T. Hocks, M. Taylor, M. Cravo Neto, L. Gonzalez Palma, L. Nix, M. Xian Qiu, N. Civiero, N. Evangelisti, R. Boonstra, C&P…
www.pacicontemporary.com

Informativa sul trattamento dei dati:
Il titolare del trattamento è Paci contemporary con sede legale in Via Trieste 48 – 25121 Brescia – Italia. Il trattamento dei dati viene svolto nell’ambito dell’adempimento delle funzioni di gestione amministrativa, fiscale, assicurativa, ai fini dell’attività di organizzazione di eventi fieristici, essendo ciò indispensabile per il corretto svolgimento degli obblighi che scaturiscono dal presente contratto, nel rispetto del D. Lgs. N. 196/03, Codice in materia di protezione dei dati personali. I dati personali forniti potranno anche essere utilizzati per aggiornarLa, mediante l’invio di materiale informativo e pubblicitario, su attività organizzate da PaciArte Contemporaryl e potranno essere comunicati in Italia e/o all’estero a soggetti promotori di servizi analoghi. I diritti di cui all’ art. 7 d.lgs. 196/03 saranno esercitabili scrivendo a Fullsteam srl, Via Trieste 48 – 25121 Brescia – Italia – tel/fax: +39 030 2906352 – email info@pacicontemporary.com

Ai sensi del D.Lgs. 196/2003 si precisa che le informazioni contenute in questo messaggio sono riservate ed a uso esclusivo del destinatario. Qualora il messaggio in parola Le fosse pervenuto per errore, La invitiamo ad eliminarlo senza copiarlo e a non inoltrarlo a terzi, dandocene gentilmente comunicazione .

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SNAP! Orlando  5.3 – 5.5.13

SNAP! ORLANDO MAY 2013

SNAP! is a 4-day photography celebration showcasing the work of renowned international and national photographers, connected to the Lucie Foundation.

Photo printed on plexiglas by Mei Xian Qiu at Snap! Orlando

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Mei Xian Qiu: “Lascia che mille fiori sboccino”

Inaugurazione Sabato 23 Febbraio 2013 18.30
Via Trieste, 48, 25121 Brescia Province of Brescia, Italy
Tel. +39 030 290 6352

Paci contemporary è lieta di presentare in anteprima europea la serie fotografica Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom di Mei Xian Qiu, giovane artista americana di origini asiatiche. L’aspetto cinematografico pone la fotografia di Mei Xian Qiu su molteplici livelli, accompagnando una visione romantica alla rappresentazione di una feroce realtà che mette in luce temi scottanti. La traduzione contraffatta della serie: Lascia che mille fiori sboccino ispirandosi ad una poesia di Mao e riferendosi a grandi società intende divulgare il concetto di lasciare la possibilità di far gareggiare centinaia di forme artistiche e di scuole di pensiero diverse tra loro.

La Mei rappresenta questo romantico e malinconico desiderio culturale ipotizzando un’invasione pacifica e non aggressiva di un gruppo di asiatici vestiti in divisa militare ma armati solo di petali, lasciando spazio anche alla realtà della globalizzazione nella società multietnica contemporanea.

Per non lasciare nulla al caso, la Mei richiede rigorosamente che i suoi modelli siano studiosi specializzati in cultura cinese nonché artisti americani di origine asiatica. Così come per i costumi si affida ad uno studio di Pechino specializzato nella ricostruzione degli strumenti di propaganda della Rivoluzione Culturale, utilizzando vecchie  uniformi che sono appartenute all’esercito americano e alle Guardie Rosse cinesi.

Questa commistione tra una visione romantica della cultura e denuncia della realtà permette alla fotografia della Mei di divenire un potente  simbolo dei bisogni della società odierna.

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das PaarFor Immediate Release: Los Angeles Art Association proudly presents das Paar, an all-media group exhibition juried by Thomas Volkmann and Silvia Sonnenschmidt of Contemporary Art Ruhr (CAR) at Gallery 825 on Friday, January 25, 6 to 9p. In addition to das Paar, artist James Peterson will be featured in a solo exhibition.das Paar is a unique cross-cultural exhibition pairing contemporary artists from Los Angeles and Europe. Featured artists include: Nicholas Coroneos, Moshe Elimelech, Stephan Geisler, Steven Hautemaniere, Helen Hodgkinson, Melanie Hubner, Stacey Kalkowski, Tony Kelly, Laura Larson, MEGAH3RTZ: Valentina Boneva & Steffen Muller, Michael Meise, Adele Mills, Sebastian Molleken, Margaret Ouchida, Billy Pacak, Ji Hyun Park, D Punkt, Mei Xian Qiu, Paul Raas, Dennis Ruble, Diana Scheunemann, Susanna Schoenberg, Philipp Schumacher, Sala Seddiki, Lee Tonks, Ariel Vargassal, Art Weeks, and Elyse Wyman. James Peterson‘s ambitious installation Sessilanoid (a sum of all parts) is comprised of plastic formed cells that interconnect, creating dynamic patterns over the gallery walls, ceiling and floor. This compelling piece hypothesizes what happens as synthetic lifeforms take the place of the organic. Peterson’s convincing use of lighting, technology and nature inspired forms create a potent context for his exploration of pollution and sustainability. Sessilanoid approximates growth of synthetic barnacles over the gallery. SPECIFICS Exhibition dates: January 25 to February 15, 2013 Reception: Friday, January 25, 2013, 6 to 9p Location: Gallery 825, 825 North La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90069
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