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QUEER LOVE IN ART TRANSCENDS TIME AND PLACE

by Zimra Chickering | Mar 2, 2022 | A & E, Let's Be Perfectly Queer, Wheel | 0



There is no doubt that Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss” and Sandro Botticelli’s “The
Birth of Venus” are iconic portrayals of love, desire and sexuality, but they
are far from the only ones. Unfortunately, our current art historical canon
prioritizes narratives from white, male, cisgender and straight artists,
portraying themes that thus align with the experiences of that demographic.
However, once one dips their toe outside of the canon, powerful narratives
concerning love and desire between people of color and LGBTQ people begin to
unfold like a beautiful storybook.

While readers should do some research into this artistic representation for
their own enrichment, whether by a quick Google search or a visit to an art
gallery,here is a list of a few of my favorite visual artists who portray queer
love.

Zanele Muholi

Portraying queer love “ … means celebrating and acknowledging the presence and
existence of all those who have been denied their right to love,” explained the
iconic South African queer photographer and visual activist Zanele Muholi.
Muholi is one of many contemporary artists across the globe who challenges the
negative rhetoric surrounding LGBTQ identities, specifically tackling the false
idea that homosexuality is un-African. Muholi is well versed in portraiture and
self-portraiture, as seen in her more recent exhibit “Somnyama Ngonyama: Hail
the Dark Lioness”: a series of self-portraits examining the intersectionality
between race, gender and sexuality within her own Black queer body.

Zanele Muholi, “Sibusiso, Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy,” 2015. (Glasgow School of
Art, Flickr)

Simeon Solomon

Due to the taboo nature of queer love even just 50 so years ago, some may have
expected this list to include only contemporary art. However, Simeon Solomon’s
Raphaelite-era paintings, which depict relationships between both queer and
Jewish figures, decidely shatters that expectation. Solomon is an illustrious,
yet again underrated, 19th century painter who was both gay and Jewish and
worked in Victorian England. As a recent CNN article covering Solomon’s work
described, his “Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytilene” painting is
considered to be one of the “first depictions of same-sex female desire made for
a gallery-going audience in the West.” Depicting Sappho’s story, an iconic tale
of lesbian love, the work underscores Solomon’s subtle references to
controversial identities. During this era, only classical motifs and traditions,
like the story of Sappho, were allowed to be invoked as a reference to gay love,
surreptitiously appealing to queer viewers. Even if cisgender, heterosexual
viewers may have thought this was a mere retelling of a Greek tale, others could
feel represented and celebrated for their desire and life. Unsurprisingly,
Solomon’s career was cut short due to his scandal and arrest for possible gay
activities with men in 1873 and 1874, as the worlds of art and politics have
often tried to silence LGBTQ people.

Simeon Solomon, “Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytilene,” 1864
(snl.no/Creative Commons)

Sunil Gupta

Intersectionality is at the center of the queer community, as we are only
strengthened by the many other identities we bring to the table. Sunil Gupta is
the perfect example of this, as an inspirational photographer and activist who
lives in London and was born in New Delhi, India. Some of his most famed works
are narrative portraits from the 1980s, where he worked in the U.K. alongside
the Autograph ABP (Association of Black Photographers) through the British Black
arts movement. Gupta focuses on themes of desire and liberation for those
marginalized because of race and sexuality, and he has had exhibitions all
across the globe. The photographer was part of a 10 photograph feature on the
experience of people of color in London in 1986, which features a photograph of
himself and his partner. He often works with images of himself alongside his
white partner or photos of other queer long-term relationships, taking the
simple format of the portrait and adding a sociopolitical statement. These queer
couples, set against recognizable backdrops and enjoying quotidien activities,
deny any homophobic assumptions about queer life, allowing them to take up the
space they were often denied. Something as straightforward as a portrait can
contain various layers concerning both the artist’s own queer story and the
broader sociopolitical status of his fellow people of color and queer people.

Sunil Gupta, “Untitled (from Reflections of the Black Experience),” 1986.
(Tate.org.uk)

Félix González-Torres

While the previous three artists have all used powerful figurative
representations to celebrate queer love and identity, Félix González-Torres is a
master of using symbolic, non-figurative forms to highlight these themes. He
specializes in ephemeral installations and conceptual minimalist technique. One
of González-Torres’ most poignant artworks, which I had the privilege of
interacting with at the Art Institute of Chicago, is his “Untitled (Portrait of
Ross in L.A),” a symbolic elegy to his lover Ross who died of AIDS. This artwork
is made up of candies wrapped in gleaming rainbow cellophane. Visitors are
allowed to take from the pile, which is renewed each day to the original
delineated weight of 175 lbs., the ideal weight of an average male. As the day
continues in the galleries, this weight is depleted just as Ross’ weight fell
steeply when he battled AIDS. González-Torres’ elegant and eye-catching
sculptural forms are masterpieces of metaphor, often celebrating his deep love
for Ross and the traumatic loss that was his death. Every González-Torres
artwork leaves me feeling both joyful in a loving and nostalgic way, and pained
emotionally at the histories of queer oppression. 

Félix González-Torres, “Untitled (Portrait of Ross in L.A),” 1991. (Vilseskogen,
Flickr, 2011)

Louise Abbéma

Any list of queer artists is not complete without the mention of iconic lesbian
painter and sculptor Louise Abbéma and her lover, actress Sarah Bernhardt.
Together they took the art world and the French cultural scene by storm during
La Belle Époque in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While Abbéma painted
very well from a young age, she gained recognition at the age of 23 for her
portraits of Bernhardt (deemed “Divine Sarah” by her fans), who was quite famous
at the time. Abbéma even became Bernhardt’s official portraitist. I can only
imagine how much of a power couple these two iconic, vibrant and eccentric
artists were. Their own geniuses propelled them together into celebrity status
at the time, and it is a shame we do not hear their names nearly as often as we
hear the names of cisgender, heterosexual male Belle Époque artists like James
Whistler (think Whistler’s Mother) or Henri Rousseau.

Louise Abbéma, Portrait of Sophia Bernhardt. (Irina, Flickr, 2016)

While this list is in no way comprehensive, as queer people have existed and
created art for all of human existence, these five artists are an amazing
starting point to understanding how queer love can be honored through
portraiture. Whether it be falling more in love with yourself or with a partner,
love is an essential part of building a stronger and more vibrant queer
community. As these portraits of love show, the queer community is not a
monolith, but instead a rainbow of experiences and passions that can enrich the
world.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ZIMRA CHICKERING

Zimra Chickering (24C) was born and raised in Chicago and plans to major in art
history and nutrition science. She is a representative of Slow Food Emory and a
volunteer at the Michael C. Carlos Museum. Chickering can be found cooking for
her friends and family, taking long walks and drinking tea. She uses writing as
an outlet to reflect upon issues with current visual art institutions, imagine
the wonderful ways we can transform artistic platforms and address accessibility
to both the arts and food. Contact Chickering at zchicke@emory.edu.


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