I Can See Queerly Now: Visualizing Queer Theory by Creating a Personal Gay History

Abstract

This paper recounts my attempts to visualize the concepts and ideas of queer theory in my studio practice through collecting, collage, assemblage, printmaking, installation, and performance. I focus on the concept of “queering” and how to translate this visually and linguistically to the creation of objects, people, and place using my own personal gay history as a reference point. I look at at what it means to “queer” objects through curation and display using my private collections as examples. I present my attempts to apply the concepts of queer theory to my studio practice using print media, gay valentines, the self portrait, and old scholastic photos of myself as another way of creating a gay personal visual history. I look at language through queer slang and the effect of being taunted for being perceived as queer and as a way of going back and marking myself and my childhood as queer. I employ images of St. Sebastian to visualize the concepts of shame and abjection. I look at queer space through Arnold Van Gennep and Victor Turner’s work on liminality, and explore queer personae through the lens of shamanism. I then discuss the creation of the installation, Shaman Johnny’s Pop-Up Shop & Gallery, and show how it visualizes the main concepts of queer theory. I describe the queer or alternative persona, Shaman Johnny, and the creation of a sacred space that allows for the experience of queerness through liminality. I close with a final assessment of the installation, Shaman Johnny’s Pop-Up Shop & Gallery.