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For the past half of a century, the LGBTQ community has made tremendous progress towards gaining equal rights and the treatment that they deserve from others. However, before that, members were too often disgraced and therefore most were afraid to show who they really were. After extensive research and surveying, Gary Gates of UCLA's Williams Institute speculates that there are around nine million Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer today. This number would indicate that the LGBT community is larger than the population of 40 individual states in America. This is a significant portion of our population and therefore should be included in all aspects of society. Art is one form of expression that the LGBTQ community has been able to thrive in because there are countless forms to communicate with an audience and share their feelings without physically speaking. My exhibit consists of five paintings, digital illustrations, and photographs that are almost exact replicas of famous pieces by world-renowned artists dating back to the late 1400’s. They are shown together because each of the five are specifically updated to promote the LGBTQ community in some way. I find this theme meaningful because it symbolizes the increasing acceptance and popularity of LGBTQ in today’s world. The changes in the art are essentially a metaphor for the changes in time and the incorporation of LGBTQ themes into famous artwork created by icons such as Andy Warhol is physical evidence that artists believe the LGBTQ community should be more prominent in artwork, especially pieces that could be recognized in all parts of the world. Art allows those who identify as LGBTQ spread awareness while coming together, and recreating iconic pieces of art to include the community shows that they are finally being recognized as the inspiring people they truly are and should never have had to “earn” their rights in the first place.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/08/bronwyn-lundberg-lesbian-last-supper_n_2432348.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3148509/Controversial-artist-caused-outrage-recreating-iconic-Iwo-Jima-photo-gay-pride-flag-half-naked-men-received-death-threats.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/24/john-malkovich-recreates-iconic-portraits-sandro-miller_n_5875008.html

http://robertindiana.com/works/love-2/

http://www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/blog-post/lgbt-america-numbers

https://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/archivalcollections/pdf/granfury_0.pdf

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Drew Green, American Gothic, 2013, digital illustration

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Drew Green, American Gothic, 2013, digital illustration

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Grant Wood’s American Gothic is a portrait that depicts a proletariat couple wearing torn clothes in 1930. It was a time in America where prosperity was rather uncommon, and therefore hard working people were highly valued because they were seen as the most fit for making it through the Great Depression that would soon begin. In this digitally illustrated replica of Woods’s notorious portrait, Drew Green, a storyboard artist, depicts his friend Chris and Chris’s partner as the two figures in American Gothic. The two men stand side by side in front of a church with content expressions on their face, and one of them holds a pitchfork upright just like the man in the original image. I chose this image because I believe placing two men where a straight proletariat couple once stood sends a message that gay couples are just as hard working and contribute just as much to society as everyone else. The illustration corresponds with the other pieces in the exhibit because it takes an iconic piece and recreates it to convey the idea that members of the LGBTQ community are as valued today as people of the working class were in the early 20th century.

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After the island of Iwo Jima was declared safe during the Second World War, Joe Rosenthal captured the compelling moment when American soldiers raised their flag together on Japanese soil. This photograph went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1945, and still serves as a symbol of national pride for the United States to this day. Over fifteen years ago, Ed Freeman used photoshop to create an image modeled after Rosenthal’s, but in his version, a group of men raise the rainbow flag that represents those in the LGBTQ community. In Freeman’s image, the models are shirtless, revealing their trim bodies, and they are situated on the top of a mountain in the clouds as if they had just reached the top. Despite those differences, it is clear which photograph Freeman was referencing because the models are leaning to haul up the rainbow flag in the same iconic position as the soldiers were when they raised the American flag in Iwo Jima. I chose to include this image because the men raise the rainbow flag with pride in a group they associate with, just as the soldiers did. It symbolizes the victory of the LGBTQ community because they are proud of who they are and they have accomplished something that they have worked so hard for. Furthermore, their shirtlessness suggests that men can still be and masculine and tough even if they aren’t soldiers or identify as gay.

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Sandro Miller, Andy Warhol/Green Marilyn (1962), 2014, silkscreen, 26¾ x 28½"

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Sandro Miller, Andy Warhol/Green Marilyn (1962), 2014, silkscreen, 26¾ x 28½"

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In this recreation of Andy Warhol’s Green Marilyn (1962), artist John Malkovich poses for American portrait photographer Sandro Miller to produce one image in their remarkable series called “Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich: Homage to Photographic Masters.” At a brief glance, one would assume that it’s Warhol’s silkscreen piece because everything including the iconic bright yellow bob, red lips, and solid green background is almost identical to the original. However, after a second look, it is evident that the figure has a face that belongs to a man. I chose this image because I think the decision to have a male pose for the recreation of Green Marilyn is especially meaningful. Marilyn Monroe is a female beauty icon who was and still is admired by many, and incorporating a male face implies transgendered people share the same beauty. Miller’s updated piece communicates with the other works in the exhibition because he took a classic Warhol and transformed it into a work of art that honors people in the LGBTQ community and cherishes their differences by associating them with such a beloved figure.

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Gran Fury, AIDS, 1987, acrylic on canvas, 183 x 183cm

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Gran Fury, AIDS, 1987, acrylic on canvas, 183 x 183cm

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LOVE is an iconic pop art image by American artist Robert Indiana that consists of red letters spelling out “love.” The LO is stacked on top of the letters VE, with solid blue and green filling the negative space, and the original image served as a print image for The Museum of Modern Art’s Christmas card in 1964. Gran Fury, an activist group that stressed the danger of the rapidly spreading AIDS epidemic, created version of LOVE that reads: AIDS. They intentionally chose to use the same configuration and color scheme as Indiana’s LOVE because it is an image that is familiar to many. I included this version of the artwork because Gran Fury used a well-known image to spread AIDS awareness. This way, it would catch people’s eye in hopes of them remembering it and then spreading awareness themselves. Gran Fury’s modern take on LOVE was a perfect addition to my exhibition because they used classic art as a way to try and prevent the spread of the disease that is especially problematic in the LGBTQ community.

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Bronwyn Lundberg, Lesbian Last Supper, 2012, digital illustration

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Bronwyn Lundberg, Lesbian Last Supper, 2012, digital illustration

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Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper is an iconic biblical painting completed in the late 15th century that depicts Jesus’s last meal, where he tells his apostles that one of them would soon betray him. Bronwyn Lundberg, a digital artist from West Hollywood, used her impressive graphic design skills to create Lesbian Last Supper, a modern version of Da Vinci’s dinner scene that features famous lesbians sitting at a one-sided table with the same body language and clothing as the men in the original painting. I chose this image because Lundberg replaced important religious males with figures who are not only female, but also lesbian. Essentially, the only aesthetic change Lundberg made was placing different heads on the bodies, but it resulted in a significant change in the meaning of the image. It sends a message that celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell, who have the courage to come out to the entire world as lesbian, are as influential to the LGBTQ community as Jesus was to the Christian community. Lesbian Last Supper communicates with the other works in the exhibition because it puts a modern spin on a well-known painting to involve those who identify as LGBTQ.