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You all are in for such an incredible artistic treat since I'm joined with an academic trailblazer, Dr. Jonathan D. Katz. He teaches art history at the University of Pennsylvania and is credited as one of the first founding figures of queer art history! Much of his writing explores gender, sexuality, and desire in the art world, and he talks about his new exhibit The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity, 1869-1939 currently being shown at Wrightwood 659 in Chicago.
Jonathan wrote one of the first queer art history dissertations, and he explains how this topic actually led to top graduate school programs kicking him out! He describes the conservative and homophobic climate in academia during the Reagan era and the AIDS crisis, when studying queer artists and themes was highly politically charged.
Then, he digs into his Gay and Lesbian Review magazine issue that he guest edited all about The First Homosexuals which features discussions about same-sex desire in both Western and Non-Western cultures. This conversation will definitely open your eyes to how prevalent same-sex desire is in the art world while at the same time so many museums and art historians are still afraid to talk openly about queer themes!
You can get your hands on Jonathan's G&LR magazine issue here: https://glreview.org/issue/issue-176/
Read more about his First Homosexuals exhibit here: https://wrightwood659.org/exhibitions/the-first-homosexuals-the-birth-of-a-new-identity-1869-1939/
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Thanks to the ITBR team! Dr. Andrew Rimby (Host and Director), Mary DiPipi (Chief Contributor), and Christian Garcia (Editor)
