Plus, we need to fight against the still-pervasive hesitation to reveal even the most famous artists-and perhaps especially them-as not straight, no matter how out and proud they might be. To a certain extent, that’s very true-no need to start seeing vaginas in all of Hannah Höch’s collages-but sexual orientation like any other aspect of identity, undoubtedly plays some role in an artist’s work, which proceeds so directly from the most intimate corners of the subconscious. Arguably, an artist’s sexual preference shouldn’t skew the interpretation of their work. Herbert Singleton, Love That Not Love (1990) In the meantime, we’re taking you on a big gay art history tour through bohemian cafes, funky studios and dusty museum basements to reintroduce you to some well-known names that you might not have known were queer. To find out more about the hidden history of queerness in art, Queer Art Historyand are great resource to start plugging the holes. Just last year, Petra Collins shot a beautiful Vogue feature about the Fire Island lesbian community-hard to imagine representation more mainstream than that. Samson, K8 Hardy (still goin’ strong), A.L. Think Ryan McGinley’s gay kissing photographs, Juliana Huxtable‘s provocative multi-media work and Wu Tsang’s video and performance art, to say nothing of J.D. In the last 50 years alone, Keith Haring’s drawings have raised awareness for the AIDS crisis of the ’80s Nan Goldin’s haunting photographs of New York’s underbelly has shed light on the queer community Robert Mapplethorpe shocked the public with his graphic images of gay sex acts, prompting a revaluation of beauty and propriety.Īnd while 20th century artists bold enough to explicitly reference queerness in their work had to stand alone, today, a wave of young artists is working to bring queerness into the mainstream. Recently, the steady trickle of queer imagery has surged to a tidal wave. Even in art history, queer imagery is everywhere-from ancient Egyptian tombs to Nan Goldin’s photographs-if you know where to look. Who could have imagined a mainstream rom-com like Love, Simonbeing made even five years ago? But while the spotlight on the LGBTQ community is growing stronger, it’s important to remember that queer love isn’t a twenty-first century phenomenon it dates as far back as humanity itself. We might think of the LGBTQ rights movement as a recent social development.