Offensive. Irreverent. Debased. Risqué. Obscene. Lewd. Indecent. Vulgar. Depraved. Lusty. These are just some of the words critiques have used through the years to describe art by the ‘queer’ artists, the art a lot of people believe just isn’t fit for mainstream audiences.
A lot of people believe ‘queer’ or ‘gay’ art started in the modern times. The truth is, it began as early as 5CE in Greece and Rome. The Ancient Greeks produced one of the earliest examples of gay art. The Greeks considered adult male sexual attraction to be normal and natural. These homo-erotic relationships were the elaborate subject of Greek poetry and art. The lurid images were often painted on black vases, hundreds of which persist today.
The ‘Warren Cup’, luxurious silver cup used at Roman dinner parties, depicts two pairs of male lovers. One side shows two teenage boys making love, while the other shows a young man lowering himself onto the lap of his elder, bearded lover. Relationships between the same sex were part of Greek and Roman culture, from slaves to emperors. Today such ancient images remind us that the way societies view sexuality is never constant. Their art serves as a souvenir of a time when same-sex relationships were accepted and even celebrated.
The sculptures in the Khajuraho temples serve as evidence for the presence of homosexual and also bisexual relationships in ancient India. They’re a series of temples built between 950 and 1050 by the Chandela Rajput dynasty. It feature a variety of art work, of which 10% are erotic. Some scholars suggest that the erotic arts are part of Hindu tradition of treating ‘kama’ as an essential and proper part of human life.
In the 1930’s, out of the violence of the Nazi regime was born the Pink Triangle. What began as a symbol of oppression is now used to show LGBT pride and spread awareness. The ‘queer’ prisoners in Nazi concentration camps were forced to wear a badge with a pink triangle on it to show that they were homosexuals, which meant that they were marked out to receive the worse treatment possible and as a result, they were less likely to survive the brutal Nazi camps. Though not everyone embraces the pink triangle as a positive symbolism of gay pride, the pink triangle and inverted pink triangle have gone through countless variations and still remain popular in the current times.
During the Renaissance, Florence had a reputation for being the hub for homosexuals and sodomy. The quintessential Renaissance man, Leonardo Da Vinici, the greatest artist and scientific mind, lived in a time where he had to conceal his sexual orientation so he lived a celibate existence.
Later artists such as Michelangelo and Caravaggio were gay, homosexuality didn’t exist as a distinct sexual identity during their lifetimes but there are various evidences and records of their sexuality.
During the 50s and 60s emerged Lesbian pulp novels that featured intense cover art, with colorful suggestive visuals, knowing glances and lots of skin. In an era before the feminist and gay liberation movements, the sensational images on the books’ covers were the only way to spread awareness about same sex relationships between women. These paperbacks included coloured covers with vivacious titles and stories that addressed the subjects that were usually a taboo like prostitution, rape, and inter-racial love stories. While the pulp novels today seem hilariously over-the-top, they are nonetheless important pop culture representations of homosexuals in art.
A leading figure in the Pop Art movement, Andy Warhol, responded to mass-media culture of the 1960s. His silk-screen prints of cultural and consumer icons including Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Campbell’s Soup Cans, and Brillo Boxes; made him one of the most famous pop artists. “The best thing about a picture is that it never changes, even when the people in it do,” he once said. Though Warhol was homosexual, he kept much of his private life a secret, but occasionally referenced his sexuality through his art.
In the late 70’s, Keith Haring, an American activist and a very talented pop-artist who had dedicated his entire career to bringing awareness to gay art and AIDS. His colorful, provocative, and socially-conscious images form an important part of the history of gay. In the 80’s Haring opened Pop Shop, a Soho retail outlet selling merchandise of his art works. While many in the art scene criticised the commercialism, Haring stayed committed to sharing his work with a diverse audience at affordable prices. His friend and fellow pop artist Andy Warhol was a great support to him.
David Wojnarowicz began his career in 1978, as a painter, photographer, filmmaker, writer, performance artist, and activist. His art reflected the grief, anger, frustration and fear through drawing attention to religious fundamentalism, conservatism, homophobia, imperialism, all while raising the voices of stigmatized individuals.
Meanwhile in India, as early as the 1980’s, Bhupen Khakhar became ‘India’s first openly gay artist’. His sexual orientation had a huge impact on his work which was underplayed by art critics. Recognition for his works came slow and initially from abroad.
Jahangir Jani is known for his life size sculptures and his works are featured in important collections. He is solicited with the culture and the socio–political impact of the propagation of the same. His work has been widely criticised by authors and theorists in India.
Balbir Krishan uses his own sexuality as inspiration for his art, is definitely one of the most fine-tuned artists around. But when he confronted the society about his sexuality, he was physically beaten up and his paintings damaged on the grounds of being ‘vulgar’.
Mithu Sen creates sensual, provocative and engaging works that break the stereotypes of gender. She explores eroticism in her own signature style in her illustrations, installations, writings and collages.
Illustrator Maitri Dore, whose work on the themes of gender stereotypes and alternative sexuality can be understood by anyone because of her child-like drawing and satirical take on the prejudices that plague our country. Her work also examines everything from rape to female foeticide to everyday gender bias in our society.
The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals often experience a different authenticity of life based on a sometimes un-accepting society. It is important to celebrate the art of the artists who have made incredible contributions to arts and culture, they have also used their art as a way to inspire the society. LGBTQ artists have harnessed their creative practices to fight homophobia, promote progressive dialogue, and most importantly: empower self-expression.