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View of the Gallery, Photo by Dan Pillers |
Gay men and lesbians lose
their lovers and partners to accidents, acts of violence, AIDS,
cancer, heart attacks, old age, and suicide. When we do, we have no
rituals, no institutions and no legal status. We do not even have a
name. Today, we claim the title of “Queer Widow” and we ask
you to join us to celebrate life, confront death and embrace the living.
Life After Death: Embracing
the Queer Widow draws from the notion
that we all have a story to tell, that our thoughts and experiences
are valid and real. Over the past few decades the “Queer
Community” has taken giant steps toward gaining freedom and
recognition. We have come together in the face of AIDS and have
countered direct blows from a homophobic culture. But, our battle,
like all battles, has had its share of casualties. We scrambled for
answers as we watched our friends and lovers die. It happened so fast
there was hardly time to mourn. Many who survived have found
themselves standing alone in a clear-cut, with no badge of courage,
no twenty-one gun salute and no flag presented with honor. Instead we
were minimized in obituaries, and often completely omitted.
Life After Death: Embracing
the Queer Widow is a community
oriented exhibition featuring a collaboration of works created for,
by and about members of the "Queer Community" whose
partners and lovers have died. By drawing from what they know, what
they remember, and what they hope to be true, eight queer artists
blend visual art, literary works and performance to create the
collective voice and face of the “Queer Widow”.
The project features the
collaborative works of; Tim Clare, Jim Cross, Chuck Forester, Yves
Moralex, Douglas Morris, Dan Pillers, Mike Richards, and Kerry Rutz
in a six week exhibition running from June 15th - July 28th, 2001 at
SPACE 743, located at 743 Harrison St., in San Francisco."
This project is produced and
curated by Dan Pillers/Fagart unlimted
as part of the National Queer Arts
Festival 2001. It
is funded,
in part, by a "Creating
Queer Community Grant for Emerging Artists" a
collaborative project of the Jon
Sims Center, the
Harvey
Milk Institute
and the Queer
Cultural Center
as part of the Gateway
Initiative of The San Francisco Foundation and
thorugh generous private donations from members of our community.
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