SGN Page 27

Friday
May 4, 2007
SGN.org

Volume 35
Issue 18

search only SGN online

Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008

PREVIOUS EDITIONS

SGN ADVERTISING INFORMATION

site map

Explore a 'Genderqueer Hall of Fame' with artist Lara Muffley

Explore a 'Genderqueer Hall of Fame' with artist Lara Muffley
QArts presents "GQ: A Portrait Series Honoring Genderqueer Individuals" as the May gallery show at the Seattle LGBT Community Center. After extended runs at the Wildrose and the Theatre Off Jackson in the International District, we are happy to bring artist Lara Muffley's groundbreaking, thoughtful, and witty show back to Capitol Hill. The opening reception will be held Saturday, May 5th from 6pm to 9pm at the Center at 1115 East Pike Street. Admission is free and wine and snacks will be provided. T-shirts featuring the work of the artist will be for sale, but the pieces in this exhibition are intended for educational purposes and will not be for sale. Lara Muffley is a Seattle based artist obsessed with spray paint, stencils and all things drag. Her 'GQ' stencil portrait series began as a tribute to drag kings which eventually evolved to encompass individuals in a larger genderqueer context, thus the title of this series, "GQ". Gender theory scholar Judith Halberstam's work on 'female masculinity' has influenced Muffley's project and a portrait of Halberstam is among those featured in this series which also includes such groundbreaking figures as 18th century Swiss born explorer Isabelle Eberhardt, film icon Marlene Dietrich, celebrated drag kings and performers Mo B Dick, Anderson Toone and Dred; folksinger Phranc and musician performer J D Samson of the dance-punk group LE TIGRE. What began as a drag king stencil portrait project has evolved into a genderqueer Hall of Fame honoring the many individuals of varying gender and sexual identities who have challenged the gender binary both historically and in the modern era. It honors revolutionaries, visual artists, photographers, poets, vaudeville performers, musicians, academics and explorers-past and present- who fit under the umbrella of 'female masculinity'. With this series, Muffley asks herself and her audience to consider: What is masculinity? How is gender a performance? What is a 'man'? What is a 'woman'? How acceptable is it to be a masculine woman vs a feminine man? What are the assumed relationships between gender identification and sexual orientation? The questions posed and the answers you may come up will hopefully challenge and enrich your views on gender and sexuality. When not obsessing over spray paint and all things drag, Lara Muffley is an electron microscopist/research scientist, printmaker and photographer who became interested in the radical nature of stencil graffiti while living in Oaxaca, Mexico with her partner. She greatly enjoys contemplating gender in a postmodern context with her exacto knife, a roll of masking tape and a can of spray paint. For more information on her and the Genderqueer project and links to other sites featuring information on issues of gender and sexuality, visit her website at http://genderqueerproject.blogspot.com/ QArts is the fine arts committee of the Seattle LGBT Community Center and proud to be celebrating their 5th Anniversary this July. For more information on volunteering, or donating to QArts and the Center or to be featured in an upcoming show, please check out their page at the Seattle LGBT Center website at http://www.seattlelgbt.org/gallery.html and/or email them at artgallery@seattlelgbt.org