FACE: Queerness In Self-Portraiture

1st Annual National Queer Arts Festival

June 11 – June 27, 1998
SOMAR Gallery

Presented by Queer Cultural Center

We chose self-portraiture as the theme of Qcc’s inaugural exhibition for many reasons. We wanted this first exhibition to represent who we are, what we can be, and what we can accomplish. We wanted a place to start; to begin a serious discourse on queer culture. A beginning that was not an absolute ideological position but a place that would be continually open to itself and its re-creation. A place that celebrated difference as its mode of being and justice as its practice. We wanted to present ourselves not as an abstraction ( a theoretical category, a political identity group or an economic brand) but as an array of unique individuals who share this “queerness”. We gathered these artists together in hope of creating this place, this center. We decided to start with introductions. A look into each other.s eyes. We decided to call this first gesture FACE.

The eighty pieces that were chosen for this exhibition represent for us what we believe is at the heart of our intentions. We see in these works a level of criticality that is admirable and a struggle for affirmation that is inspirational. We thank the artists who have so generously presented themselves for our debut.

The Queer Cultural Center

Rudy Lemcke and Lenore Chinn, 
Co-curators

Photograph of brochure that says Face A curated show exploring queer expression through self-portraiture

EXHIBITION

June 11 – June 27, 1998

RECEPTION

June 11, 1998
6pm – 9pm
Suggested donation: $3 – $5

LOCATION

SOMAR Gallery

934 Brannan

San Francisco, CA

Artists

Cara Judea Alhadeff Peter B. Alyson Belcher
Gary Borgstedt Douglas Britt D. Brighid
Hugh Buck Cathy Cade Morgan Caufield
James Cline Timothy Cummings Greg Day
Steven T. Elliott Farika Terry Forman
Martin Freeman Don Garlow Enrique (Kico) Govantes
Jackie Gratz Andrea D. Guerra Conrad Hechter
Happy/L.A. Hyder Valerie Jacobs Douglas Johnsonson
Ramon Markus Kadi Maxine Kincora Gary Kong
Clover Leary/Noah Webb Jim Leff Robert Morgan
Rhett Neal Hienn Nguyen Freddie Niem
Erin O’Neill Frank Pietronigro Thomas Plageman
Fernando Reyes Rink Margo Mercedes Rivera
Jerry Rush Thomas Rohnacher Jane Segal
Kirk Stoller Grant Sun Michael Tiffany
Charles H. Trapolin Arthur Tress William Ulrich
Jean Weisinger Hadas Weiss Sandra Yagi
Wide angle image of a gallery with white walls and photographs

Review of FACE by Jeffrey Wilson

,
The Queer Cultural Centers FACEs at SOMAR Gallery, June 11 - 27, 1998 by Jeffrey Wilson Recent events have caused me to reflect on an old joke from way back in the early 1990's that was circulating around the "art world" in the wake of…

FACE Gallery Map

SOMArts Gallery Map of SOMArts Gallery      1. Rink Foto, Gary Borgstedt, Timothy Cummings 2. Heinn Nguyen, Hugh Buck, Erin O'Neil, Ramon Markus Kadi     3. Steven Elliott 4. Arthur Tress     5.…
Wide angle image of a gallery with white walls and photographs

FACE Selections

A SELECTION OF ARTISTS FROM THE FACE EXHIBITION        timothy cummings  alyson belcher  thomas plageman        jackie gratz  don garlow  douglas johnsonson        maxine kincora  gary…
Wide angle image of a gallery with white walls and photographs

ABOUT FACE: On the value of queer self-portraiture by Richard Meyer

ABOUT FACE: ON THE VALUE OF QUEER SELF-PORTRAITURE by Richard Meyer Queer self-portraiture insists on the power of lesbian and gay people to set the terms of their own---which is to say, our own--visibility. This fact carries particular…
Wide angle image of a gallery with white walls and photographs

FACE by Jewelle Gomez

FACE by Jewelle Gomez In some animals, including humans, looking directly into another's face is a sign of aggression. Meeting eye to eye implies confrontation. Our fur bristles and adrenaline flows. To face down, face off--each are euphemisms…
Wide angle image of a gallery with white walls and photographs

FACE by Jonathan D. Katz

FACE: An Introduction by Jonathan Katz We have long recognized the mutability of that seemingly biologically determinate aspect of being we call our face--and I'm not talking about the relatively recent medium of plastic surgery. We say that…
Wide angle image of a gallery with white walls and photographs

ABOUT NATIONAL QUEER ARTS FESTIVAL

The National Queer Arts Festival is an annual multidisciplinary Festival currently held May through July throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Each year we commission over twenty performances, visual arts exhibitions, and interdisciplinary showcases and in the process of producing work we support hundreds of artists, technical and production crews.

MORE 1998 NATIONAL QUEER ARTS FESTIVAL SHOWS

Wide angle image of a gallery with white walls and photographs