 |
| Michelle Brennan's diorama of Roving Pack, by Sassafras Lowrey. Image via http://www.thedailybeast.com |
The Queer Book Diorama Show is currently on view at the Jefferson Market Branch of the New York Public Library. The library, located on 6th Avenue, between West 9th and 10th Streets, is housing dioramas that were assembled by thirteen LBGTQ artists. Hailing from the United States, Canada, and South Africa, these artists have chosen to explore the relationship between LGBTQ readers and literature through the construction of their dioramas.
The artists, and books they interpreted as dioramas, are: Melissa Sky and Jennifer Corbett, Beebo Brinker Chronicles by Ann Bannon; Michelle Morgan, Chelsea Girls by Eileen Myles; Michael Moran, Dancer from the Dance by Andrew Holleran; Jenny Lin, Female Masculinity by Jack Halberstam; Jacky Flagg, Fun Home by Allison Bechdel; Jason Bishop and Tim McMath, Mommy Dearest by Christina Crawford; Kate Conroy, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit and Rubyfruit Jungle by Jeanette Winterson and Rita Mae Brown, respectively; Michelle Brennan, Roving Pack by Sassafras Lowrey; Victoria Baker, Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown; Daniel Roza Lang, Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones by Samuel R. Delany; and Ketch Wehr, The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf.
 |
| Jason Bishop and Tim McMath's diorama of Mommy Dearest, by Christina Crawford. Image via http://www.thedailybeast.com |
The Queer Book Diorama Show was curated by writers Sassafras Lowrey and Hugh Ryan. Speaking to the Daily Beast, Ryan said, "Sassafras and I wrote a call inviting people to create a diorama based on a book that was meaningful to them in their development of their queer identity. We received nearly 100 proposals from around the world - including Canada, South Africa, Ireland, and the Czech Republic - for dioramas that ranged from pocket-sized to life-sized, on everything from picture books to dense philosophy. Had we not been limited by the space of the gallery, we would have included all of them!"
In addition to the dioramas, there will be panel discussions with the artists. Melissa Sky, Michelle Moran, Jacky Flagg, Kate Conroy, and others will shed light on their artistic process, as well as converse about queer art and literature and explain the relationship between author and reader. The panel discussions will take place at the Jefferson Market Library and will be free to attend for the general public. Sassafras Lowrey and Hugh Ryan will moderate the discussions, which are scheduled to begin at 7PM on Friday, September 5, and Friday, September 19. For more details on the scheduled events, go to THIS LINK.
The Queer Book Diorama Show was made possible through the sponsorship of the Lambda Literary Foundation, the Pop-Up Museum of Queer History, MIX NYC, and the New York Public Library.
"It has been amazing to see the outpouring of inspiration," Ryan told the Daily Beast, "as well as the crucial institutional support from the Pop-Up Museum of Queer History, the Lambda Literary Foundation, MIX NYC, and the Jefferson Market Branch of the New York Public Library! In our own small way, this show is a gift to the community and an offering to all other queers who, like us, stood before a card catalog or library shelf looking for belonging."
The Queer Book Diorama Show will be at the Jefferson Market Library through September. For more information on the show, see THIS LINK and THIS LINK.
No comments:
Post a Comment