Great American Lesbian Art Show

The Great American Lesbian Art Show (GALAS) was an art exhibition at the Woman's Building (a feminist art center) in Los Angeles, California with associated events in other locations.[1][2] It ran from 3–31 May 1980.[1][3][4] The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center also supported the exhibit.[5][6]

Structure

The GALAS consisted of an "invitational" event, a curated exhibition of the work of ten selected artists, and many "regional" or "sister" exhibitions in multiple cities across the United States.[1] These locations included New York City, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Bozeman, Winter Park, Lawrence, Alexandria, and Anchorage among "over 200 shows and events."[6][7][8] According to Margo Hobbs Thompson, the art displayed constituted "a critique of contemporary gender norms."[1] It was described by Terry Wolverton, one of the organizers, as "a year-long project to bring national recognition to lesbian art and artists."[6] All of the invited artists lived in either Los Angeles or New York.[6] GALAS was curated by the GALAS Collective including: Terry Wolverton, Bia Lowe, Jody Isanna Palmer, Tyaga, and Louise Moore. [7]

Artists invited

The artists invited to participate in the curated exhibit were:[3][6]

Origins

Planning for the GALAS started in the spring of 1979. The organizing group, known as the GALAS Collective, was separate from the Lesbian Art Project, which also met at the Woman's Building, although there was some overlap of membership.[1]

Reactions

Tyaga, one of the event curators, was quoted by the Los Angeles Times while the exhibition was running as saying: "Just having the name 'Great American Lesbian Art Show' says a lot. It helps overcome fear. Art is non-threatening--it hangs on the wall and people look. It's the label that's the threat."[4]

Harmony Hammond, writing in the Encyclopedia of Lesbian and Gay Histories and Cultures said that GALAS was "noteworthy for its innovative curatorial structure" and that it "marked the first time that lesbians of color participated in a major exhibition of lesbian art."[10]

Christopher Reed described GALAS as "poorly documented" but said that it showed "a greater interest in figuration among lesbian artists outside New York."[8]

Simon LeVay wrote about the art displayed at GALAS and another exhibition of roughly the same time: "For the first time a wide range of artists were willing to be public about being lesbians, although some of them still kept lesbian content as a suggestion rather than an overt statement in their art."[11]

Sarah L. Stifler wrote of the "variety of media" in GALAS, but said that it did not include the "blatant references to sexuality" that were featured in the 1990 exhibition "All but the Obvious" (ABO).[12] Stifler also wrote that "Much of my research has focused on" GALAS and ABO.[12]

Notes
  1. Thompson, Margo Hobbs (20 April 2010). "DIY Identity Kit: The Great American Lesbian Art Show". Journal of Lesbian Studies. 14 (2–3): 260–282. doi:10.1080/10894160903196558. PMID 20408014.
  2. Phelan, Peggy (2012). Live Art in LA: Performance in Southern California, 1970 - 1983. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781136467059. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  3. Lowe, Bia (1979). "Poster for "Great American Lesbian Art Show"". Woman's Building Slide Archive.
  4. Elvenstar, Diane (May 27, 1980). "Art from Closet to Gallery". Los Angeles Times. pp. G1–G2. Just having the name 'Great American Lesbian Art Show' says a lot. It helps overcome fear," says the exhibit curator with the single name, Tyaga. "Art is non-threatening--it hangs on the wall and people look. It's the label that's the threat.
  5. "Timeline". Woman's Building web site. Archived from the original on 25 November 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  6. Wolverton, Terry (2002). Insurgent Muse: Life and Art at the Woman's Building. City Lights Publishers. pp. 91–2. ISBN 978-0872864030. The Great American Lesbian Art Show.
  7. Landauer, Susan, ed. (2006). Art of Engagement: Visual Politics in California and Beyond. University of California Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-0520240520. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  8. Reed, Christopher (2011). Art and Homosexuality: A History of Ideas. Oxford University Press. p. 194. ISBN 978-0195399073. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  9. ">> literature >> Millett, Kate". glbtq. Archived from the original on 2014-03-08. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  10. Hammond, Harmony (2000). "Art, Contemporary North American". In Zimmerman, Bonnie; Haggerty, George E. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Lesbian and Gay Histories and Cultures. Taylor & Francis. pp. 64–5. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  11. LeVay, Simon (1997). City of Friends: A Portrait of the Gay and Lesbian Community in America. MIT Press. p. 346. ISBN 978-0262621137. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  12. Stifler, Sarah L. (2002). "Slippery When Wet: An Exhibition Dossier". GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies. 8 (1–2): 241–249. Retrieved 1 February 2014.

See also
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