[Fall 2019]
The artists brought together in this issue’s thematic section explore different issues related to the boundaries of sexual identity and their transgression. Personas, transvestism, and role mutations are core to these artists’ approaches, as they address various issues fundamental to establishing a society based on inclusion rather than on narrow concepts of identities and, by extension, cultures.
KENT MONKMAN
Miss Chief Eagle Testickle
The tradition of the berdache, little known if not systematically suppressed, is at the heart of Ken Monkman’s practice. He has created the character of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle to serve as the keystone for works that range from paintings to performances, films, and photographs, as he revisits artistic modernity to challenge the dominant colonizing culture and its will to eradicate Indigenous tradition.
With an essay by Dayna McLeod
JJ LEVINE
Family
JJ Levine pursues his quest for a decomplexified representation of queer culture by adding to his series of naturally and sensitively composed portraits and his series based on transvestism and double gender. These images offer a broadened vision of family that includes not just close relatives but also an entire community of affinity and friendship. This series flowed from JJ and Harry’s decision to conceive a child.
With an essay by Charles Guilbert
ERASMUS SCHRÖTER
Contest
Identity issues are also among Erasmus Schröter’s concerns in his recent series of portraits taken on the site of a wave goth music festival. Here, transvestism and gender role play are blended with a fascination for piercing, tattoos, and scarification; military uniforms and simulated traces of blood, mud, and violence; and animal hybridizations.
With an essay by Andreas Höll