Papi
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"In Papi, I am revisiting the 1980s and 90s era of the AIDS epidemic. To reframe, reclaim and retell the history of so many queer men lost, the families of children that were affected and the queer spaces. This book incorporates photography, video performance and dialogues between queer, Latino communities and those ravaged by the AIDS pandemic, which is arguably everyone, considering the absence of the potential teacher, father, lover and friend. AIDS devastated these potential connections and these non-relationships are part of our daily mourning. Delving between constructs of queerness and familial relations, these visualizations are depictions of working class, mostly queer men and trans* people of color, who were devastated by the AIDS pandemic in Chicago. These visualizations are rooted in feminism, race/class/queer studies and the history of gender and sexuality. This artist book is integral because it reflects an era within the AIDS pandemic, specifically in Chicago and in the POC communities/neighborhoods that were affected. This is an invaluable worldview and provides a historical shift focusing on queerness within a familial framework. This book explores the multifaceted term queer, which constantly writhes and pushes boundaries, conversing with both historical movements and contemporary discourses. This project parallels time frames pivotal in existence, roughly pushing ideas of consent through incorporating the public as a collaborator. Papi includes writing, performance, installation, video and photography. It started as a performance where I sought out men who had sex with my Papi (dad). These encounters exist as video and text through emails, which are then printed as photographs. The landscapes are Public Cruising Spots that depict locations of previous cruising spaces, which were symptomatically reduced then lost with the rise of the Internet and the concurrent generational loss of queer/gay men to the AIDS epidemic. This project explores the affect and effect of technology on gay/queer hook up culture as well as a simultaneous conceptualization of generational loss in the era of the AIDS epidemic. I am interested in the present loaded contemporary landscape of these photographic sites and exploring the remnants, the changes, the barrenness and the historically lost subtext. These are green spaces no longer identifiable nor connected to their historical cruising roots. The rise of technology shifted the intimacies of these spaces. The photographic landscapes are evidence, they initially began with my Papi but ultimately begin a dialogue of the mass devastation of queer men during the AIDS epidemic. These are contemporary remains of 70s, 80s, and 90s public hookup spots in cities, Chicago, NYC, LA, Key West and Miami, these locations found through my Papi's archival images. These landscapes were documented with 110 film, a tourist film camera, a popular 80s medium in the reconstruction of this era. In addition to reshooting these landscapes, there is an archival component where I curated from thousands of his photographs that depict growing up in a gay disco with queers, kids and cats."--Oli Rodriguez, Candor Arts website. http://www.candorarts.com/goods/papi
We used to move through the city like doves in the wind : a short story
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"On March 20th, 2020, the US-Mexican border, the most heavily trafficked land port of entry in the world, was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unable to quarantine in the same household, families, friends & lovers were indefinitely separated."--Unnumbered page [11]
"This book was risograph printed at Oddities Prints in Kansas City, MO. All digital pre-production was performed by Kelsey Borch."--Page [3] of cover.
"'We used to move through the city like doves in the wind' delves into the narrator's experiences as a non-binary Mexican artist living at the border city of Tijuana during the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking directly from personal journal entries, text messages, voice notes, and FaceTime conversations, this book poetically documents and explores displacement, confinement, loneliness, and the importance of love as a symbol of hope in the middle of chaos"--Women's Studio Workshop website, viewed December 7, 2021.
"Printer: Golnar Adili, Aurora Brush, and Chris Petrone"--Women's Studio Workshop website.
I wish I never saw the sunshine
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American conceptual artist Pacifico Silano's practice is rooted in excavating the printed ephemera of gay culture to create new images that comment on loss, longing and queer melancholy. In particular, Silano uses the gestures of framing, cropping and layering vintage gay erotica to comment on the HIV/AIDS crisis and its reverberations on queer lives, which included the loss of the artist's uncle at the height of the epidemic. 'I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine' is Silano's first artists' book, and engages with an ambitious accordion-folded format that references Silano's photo-based installations: two twenty-panel long sequences that can be read as both one continuous collage and a sequence of individual images. Included in the book is an interview with the artist by José Diaz, Chief Curator of The Andy Warhol Museum. Publisher.
Top : a comic about gender and surgery
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"In clear, evocative, down-to-earth comics, Rainer walks us through their medical path to top surgery, and offers wisdom for others who are considering the same procedure. They come out to their therapist, doctor, family, and cat, and walk us through some scripts for those conversations. They talk about hormones, binders, and all the various decisions and indecisions as they figured out what path they wanted to take. They give detailed accounts of their conversations with the surgeon and other medical professionals along the way, how they prepared for surgery, how they recovered, how loved ones provided support, and how it felt every step of the way. A seriously excellent resource and story--if you're transgender or nonbinary and contemplating a medical transition, this is like a detailed conversation with a friend who's been through it all. And if you're wondering how best to support the trans folks in your life, there's lots of good guidance and info in here, too."--Publisher's description. https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/zines/1012
"This is comics at its finest. Not only does Bloodgood have an adorable art style, this comic zine discusses the realities of gender-affirming surgery. "Top surgery" refers to the removal of breasts often as a way of addressing gender dysmorphia. Bloodgood shares their experience of beginning testosterone, the process of being approved for top surgery, and the post-surgery care those who undergo this procedure require. This zine is full of helpful tips and encouragement from Bloodgood."--Community Radio Distro description. https://www.communityradiodistro.com/product/BLOODGOOD_001/7
Saving Seeds: Metaphors of Lesbian Growth
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Originally published in 1987, Saving Seeds: Metaphors of Lesbian Growth, a special issue of Maize: A Lesbian Country Magazine, was created by artist and writer Jenna Weston as a tribute to "magical female-oriented gardens."
From her Introduction: "I have found that, generally speaking, lesbian gardens are works of art. We make intricate designs with twine between sapling posts. Later, these weavings support tomato vines. Bright colored ribbons flutter from the tops of tall bean poles. Raised vegetable beds are sculpted into various graceful shapes. The winding paths are edged in pieces of broken pottery and stones we've found. We build altars in the centers of our gardens, and hold rituals between the onions and the lettuce."
"I asked wimmin to send me drawings and photos and descriptions of their magical female-oriented gardens. The replies came from near and far, and make up a part of this book. The rest of the book contains poems and prose that came directly from my experiences as a gardener and a lesbian."
Mother Nature is a lesbian
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3rd edition of Our Mother Nature is a Lesbian zine with essays and images initially created in 2018. From the zine: "The unique quality of hand-lettered signage reflects the urgency by which the objects were created for protest. Each protest sign photographed was crystallized to become emblematic of a precise moment. I wished to use the vernacular type extracted from the signs to expand upon that particular moment of protest."
This project includes reprinting 12 works created using Mother Nature a Lesbian font. Each work becomes an ethical statement inspired by contemporary protest for queer and trans livelihood.
Radical visibility. Collective issue
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Lyrics book to the Radical Visibility Collective album, along with a photo spread for each model that the lyrics are about! The zine and collective are aimed at transgender, queer and disabled people, providing a non-mainstream fashion experience.
Transpire : transgender cancer patient anthology.
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Not alone / Van Binfa -- Vulnerable / Chelsea Brickham -- Transitioning thru cancer / Beau Kirkpatrick -- Nebulous & collaborative art and the therapy of creation from devastation / Elizabeth Kennedy -- Love, Sky / Sky Michelle -- First words / Montdsigns -- Breast cancer: a non-binary perspective & not courage, but survival / Angie Beckles -- Fill in the blank / Charlie Manzano -- The year it took to call it amputation & soft masc trans boy breast cancer blues / Eli Reynolds -- All my pieces / Roman Ruddick -- No future / Klera Moore.
Tenderness : a Black queer meditation on softness and rage
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"What would it mean if tenderness could hold a simultaneous existence of joy and rage? How to call on tenderness as a practice of love, rather than a regurgitation of white supremacy? Author and writer Annika Hansteen-Izora explores answers in Tenderness: A Black Queer Meditation on Softness and Rage. A meditation, critical inquiry, and invitation to expand our imaginations on meanings of tenderness, this piece calls into question conceptions of tenderness that are rooted in desirability, anti-Blackness and white supremacy, and instead unfolds the potentials of tenderness as a tool, a balm, a healing agent, and a question to lean into"--Publisher's website.