LAUREN JENKINS
Special to The Leader
I visited Marion Art Gallery this week with the express purpose of covering “Not Gay” for this story, and I was pleasantly surprised by what the exhibition had to offer. As I walked through the dimly lit room, a group of small black-and-white photographs called out to me from one of the beams blacked towards the center of the room. The scrawled handwriting on the matting created a halo around the photos, telling the story of each image.
These photos are the work of artist Amos Badertscher, who documented many of the alternative lifestyles of people in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland.
Jonathan D. Katz, associate professor of practice, history of art and gender, and sexuality and women’s studies at the University of Pennsylvania curated the exhibit.
Katz called Amos, “A photographer of a dying culture,” and his inclusion in “Not Gay” is only the third time his art has ever been put on display, with this exhibition opening just over a month after he died at the age of 86.
Even for someone like me with little to no art-viewing experience, the exhibition offered an interesting and in-depth view of trans and queer art without overwhelming the viewer.
I remember reading one of the placards next to Laura Aguilar’s piece entitled “Clothed / Unclothed 24” that read, “I wouldn’t know what to do with the perfect body. Can we get comfortable with the imperfections?” From that description, I suddenly felt more relaxed in the exhibition, as if it had told me that it was ok to just exist in the gallery instead of worrying about if I was doing this whole “art patron” thing correctly.
“Not Gay” is the first gallery installation in SUNY Fredonia’s Marion Art Gallery for the 2023-2024 academic year.
The exhibition was curated by Katz, in collaboration with Ryan Krueger of Light Work photography center in Syracuse.
The exhibition focuses on the work of transgender and nonbinary artists, specifically about their experiences with gender and sexuality.
The gallery is proud to feature pieces from artists from all over the world, including works from well-known artists such as Del LaGrace Volcano.
When asked what he wanted visitors to think about while visiting the gallery, Katz said, “The key here is actually to look and feel, and hopefully, if I’ve done my job correctly, those two will be intertwined automatically.” In Katz’s words, one of the main goals of the exhibition is to “explore the history and contemporary production of trans art.”
Katz will be visiting Fredonia on Friday, Sept. 8 to offer a lecture on his life as a queer art writer and curator. The lecture will be held in McEwen 209 at 4 p.m.
Additionally, Barbara Proud will also be on campus on Saturday, Sept. 9 at 11 a.m. to give a gallery talk on her series “Transcending Transgender Love,” some of which is featured in the exhibition.
The gallery’s hours, as well as more information about this year’s exhibition, can be found on the Fredonia website linked here and the exhibition will be on display until Nov. 12.
Admission to the gallery and the related events is free to all.