Is there a gay aesthetic in art?

by Kenneth Murphy in Forum · 11 months ago · 3 Replies · View last reply

Kenneth Murphy

Or does one have only to be gay, illustrate naked men and boys or talk about AIDS?

(no offense to our favorite figuration artists, of course)

TIMothy Bruehl

Its been my experience that most of today's "valid" contributors to "gay-themed" are the nudists among us -- I'll pull some teeth to take it a step further - How about a "gay-perspective" type deal (isn't our experience 10 times that of average hetero-Joe whose world is fabricated for them? via the media, family and ad execs?). Nudes are nice, but where will be our place in art history?

Kenneth Murphy

I'm not quite sure we have one, anymore; a place in art history, that it, especially since Matthew Barney became the gay artist of the end of last century. (yeah, I know)

I'd felt that our job as gay artists was to use our abilities to promote social change, but how or why? Baneby Whitfield sort of makes gay work for a gay audience solely through eroticism.

There is more to being gay than our sexuality, isn't there?

TIMothy Bruehl

God (explicative) I hope so. I thought I'd finally shed the stereo-type, then I lived in San Fran (03-05) and found out what it was to be the exception. Damn disconcerting. But, in the meantime, I'm hearing (from straight/gay alike): "there's more to being human, isn't there"? God (explicative) I hope so. I like the way you think.