Aleksandr Rodchenko, Untitled, (pencil on colored paper), ca. 1920 [MoMA, New York, NY]
Man, from Song of Solomon (c1929)
Cecil Buller (Canadian, 1886-1973)
Wood Engraving
151 x 113 mm
Gego: Measuring Infinity, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, March 31 – September 10, 2023
Nono Reinhold, Cité nocturne, (etching and aquatint), 1962 [Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, Bologna. © Stichting Reinhold De Wilde, Haarlem]
this is advice I've given friends directly before and I've probably also posted it but I really like giving it so here it is potentially again: do not create something for an imaginary bad faith reader.
there will always be someone who finds fault in your work. there will be people who read the messages on it wrong. there will be people who will take every compelling aspect about your work off of it so they can put in their own.
you cannot make art for these people.
you will never write a story that is free from criticism. you will never draw a piece that everyone finds appealing. you will never compose a song that everyone enjoys hearing. you cannot, fundamentally, set out to create something and only think of how you can avoid someone not liking it.
because, and this is key, there will be someone who sees every angle of your story and feels its intent in their heart and gushes to their friends about it. you will draw someone's favorite art and they will make it their phone wallpaper because they want to see it every day. someone will fall in love with your song and loop it on their way to work because it gets them through the day. and THOSE are the people your work is for. THOSE are the people you have to care about, because they love what you make for what it is - because it's itself.
if you set out to create something and file off every sharp edge, prune every thorn, you will be left with something fragile and weak, and it will be fragile and weak for the sake of someone who does not exist but that you were scared of anyway.
sharing art is complex and tangled and powerful, and anything you care enough to create deserves to flourish as itself. get sillay.
Ok, so I’m a 48 y/o cis white guy in a loving hetero partnership who has (uncomfortably) passed as straight for my entire life to this point. I am not straight, though I haven’t figured out a label for myself yet, mostly just going with queer or bi, though neither feel quite right. Maybe labels aren’t necessary, but I feel like I should pick something (important point: my partner is fully aware and supportive of me).
Anyway, this is all preamble to the point of this post. I no longer want to express myself as a generic middle aged white guy. I want to dress more, well, queer. Most men’s clothing is sooooo boring. The problem is I have no idea where to find clothes that will fit me properly that is more, uh, flamboyant I guess than what I currently wear.
I live in Deep South Texas (like, keep driving south another four hours from San Antonio). I feel very limited here and honestly a little fearful of shopping in the “wrong” section of stores (it’s Texas, after all).
I’m slim, just under 6 feet, so not a hard-to-find size for regular men’s clothes anyway. But I no longer want regular men’s clothes. To be clear, I am not feeling gender dysphoric and do identify as male. I just want to be less conformist and more fabulous. I like color!
So, to sum up this rambling post, where can I get fun clothes locally or online that scream out, “I am queer!”?
**EDIT** if this comes across your feed somehow, please reblog it. I have maybe two followers and I really want advice (and a community I can be a part of—struggling a bit here with that).
So, I ordered some shirts from @mayakern and @morningwitchy. They just arrived and I absolutely love them! Thank you @vergess for the suggestion!
ALT
ALT
ahhh you look so good!! so glad you like the shirt :’)
Kyung-Lim Lee (South Korean, b. 1957)
Figure Polygons, 2021
Colour, pastel, pencil on drawing foil, 91.4 x 76.2 cm