09/04/2007
¿Y QUÉ? – Queer Art Made in Texas
Press Release
¿Y QUÉ? | FOREWORD | CURATOR'S ESSAY | ARTISTS | PRESS RELEASE| INSTALLATION VIEWS
LUBBOCK - Landmark Arts and The School of Art in The College of Visual and Performing Arts proudly present ¿Y QUÉ? – Queer Art Made in Texas from October 5 – November 17, 2007 in the Landmark Gallery of the Art Building. Curated by Harmony Hammond, an artist, arts writer and independent curator who lives and works in Northern New Mexico, the exhibition will feature artworks by twenty-six Texas artists. The opening reception for the exhibition will be held from 6:00 – 9:00 PM on Friday, October 5th. The event is free and open to the public. The following day, Saturday, October 6th, a Panel Discussion between the curator and four of the artists will take place in English Lecture Hall 001 beginning at 10:00 AM. The Panel Discussion is also free and open to the public (see details below).
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) communities and many academics reclaimed the word “queer” as an open form of self-identification, not solely based on race, class, age, gender, or sexual identity. Today, “queer” is many things simultaneously. It is political, derogatory, empowering, psychological, identity, and many other sorts of signs and labels. For this exhibition Hammond includes the “twin-spirited” to produce the acronym LGBTT.
“The School of Art is pleased to be actively supporting the¿Y QUÉ? – Queer Art Made in Texas exhibition. This exhibition and associated programming represents the efforts of many artists and faculty from Texas Tech University, and offers an opportunity to view artwork from leading artists from Texas,” commented Professor Todd DeVriese, Director of the School of Art. For this exhibition Harmony Hammond has brought together an assemblage of artworks by many of Texas’ queer artists. Although the artists in the exhibition are “queer,” the diverse work included in the exhibition uses a range of visual strategies to address identity issues such as sexuality, gender, race and ethnicity. Some of the work deals overtly with these issues. In others, it is more subtle and nuanced, or perhaps engages with other issues both in and out of the mainstream. The artworks, and by extension, the exhibition, question stereotypes of what constitutes gay, lesbian, queer, etc. “Considered a pioneer of the feminist art movement, Harmony Hammond, who lectures, writes and publishes extensively on the cultural representation of ‘difference’ was the perfect choice to curate this exhibition,” said Dr. Ed Check, associate professor of visual studies, who along with Patricia Earl, adjunct instructor in visual studies, spearheaded the proposal for the exhibition at the School of Art.
The exhibition is presented at the TTU School of Art with support from Cultural Activities Fees, administered through the College of Visual & Performing Arts. Additional support for the publication of an extensive exhibition catalogue has been provided by the President’s Office for Diversity, the College of Visual & Performing Arts, the Fine Arts Doctoral Program in the College of Visual & Performing Arts, the College of Architecture, the Center for Campus Life, Housing & Residence Life, the TTU Women’s Studies Program, the Student Counseling Center, and numerous private donors.
The opening of ¿Y Qué? will coincide with the presentation of Out in the Mainstream: Queer Social Landscape an exhibition, curated by Patricia Earl, Lubbock artist and adjunct instructor in visual studies. Including artworks, installations and performances by Lubbock artists – gay and straight, this exhibition will explore social expectations surrounding popular culture, media, politics and public environments. This will be a one-night only exhibition on October 5, 2007 at the Christine DeVitt Icehouse of the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts (511 Avenue J). The reception will be held in conjunction with the First Friday Art Trail (FFAT) from 6:00pm – 9:00pm. Support, in part, for this exhibition has been received from the Ryla T. & John F. Lott Endowment for Excellence in the Visual Arts, administered by the TTU School of Art.
Harmony Hammond will lead a Panel Discussion with four of the artists in the exhibition on Saturday, October 6, beginning at 10:00 AM in English lecture hall 001 (adjacent to the Art Building). The participating artists include David Zamora Casas of San Antonio, Ed Check, Ph.D., of Lubbock, Kristy Perez of San Antonio and Angela Piehl, formerly of Austin and now of Stillwater, OK who also served as Hammond’s assistant curator for this exhibition. “Hosting the exhibition and panel discussion,” observed Dr. Carol Edwards, Dean of the College of Visual & Performing Arts, “provides Texas Tech University with important occasions for broad community discourse, significant national and international stature as a leader in supporting contemporary art, and notable research opportunities for faculty and students.” A reception will follow the event in the Landmark Galleries in the Art Building. Funding for the Panel Discussion has been generously provided by the Ryla T. and John F. Lott Endowment for Excellence in the Visual Arts, administered by the School of Art.
The Galleries of the School of Art located in the Art Building at the intersection of 18th Street and Flint Avenue (2802 18th Street), just east of the Architecture Building on the Texas Tech campus. On weekdays pay-for-parking is available on the 4th floor of the Flint Avenue Parking Facility ($1.25 per hour) across the street from the School of Art. On weekends parking is free. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Saturdays 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM and Sundays Noon – 4:00 PM. Admission is always free.
For additional information call 806.742.1947 or go to www.landmarkarts.org