I’m writing this as one co-chair, not the usual letter from both of us. In part, that’s because Jenni and I have been too swamped to write something together -- and I wish her the best in her new, but as so many of us know, overwhelming graduate studies at Yale. Another is that I wanted to kvell a bit (that’s Gramma’s Yiddish for “celebrate and brag”) over the project that was, until recently, keeping me almost as swamped: the national and international conference that we pulled off so successfully at CUNY in November. “InterseXions: Queer Visual Culture at the Crossroads” attracted some 175 artists, historians, and museum folk, plus the wider public attracted by our major co-sponsor, the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (CLAGS).
The multiple panels were well-attended, the range of topics and ideas was mind-boggling, and the sight of so many younger artists (in the twin panels organized by Harmony Hammond) typing each other’s email into their laptops suggests we reached one of the main goals of the conference and the Caucus: to promote networking and exchanges within the LGBTQ art world. Our deepest thanks to Paisley Currah, CLAGS’s executive director, and the staff who did so much for so long to make it all happen, especially Sara Ganter, Lavelle Porter, and Jordan Schildcrout. And kudos to my partner, Steve Goldstein, for his indispensable financial support.
Looking forward now to the next conference, it will be a pleasure to meet and talk with many of you at the upcoming CAA in Atlanta. We have a busy menu of Caucus-related events (see schedule below). Special thanks to Garth Amundsen, Adam Waterson, and helpers for spearheading the art exhibit and sale, which will provide a gala event on Saturday to close out the convention schedule. And to Jenni Sorkin for her work on the Caucus lunchtime panel, which will feature the topic which was roiling the listserve last year: is queer identity still a valid basis for exhibits?
Even farther down the road, plans for CAA 2006 in Boston are already underway. The QCA will be sponsoring a full session on classical antiquity, organized by longtime Caucus member Peter Holliday (see below for session proposal). Many thanks to him for coming up with this much-needed idea -- ever notice how 90% of queer art history concentrates on the last century -- and following through.
If I may close on a personal and somber note, those of you who heard my opening remarks at “InterseXions” know my rather gloomy prognosis that day: the coincidence of our conference and the national election results was a wake-up call to queer cultural activists of all stripes. The next four years will be difficult for the likes of us; look out for manifold attempts to limit our freedom and self-expression. I called for some hard thinking on the part of visual queers, to figure out how to respond to the threat. Perhaps we can begin that conversation in Atlanta.
Best wishes for the new year.
Jim Saslow
james_saslow@qc.edu
saslowj@aol.com
“The nude in photography” -- session on Friday morning (9-11:30): chaired by E. Anne McCauley (Princeton); papers include “Natalie Barney and the photographic ‘lesbian’ nude” by Amy Mechowski (University College, London), “Tony Sansone, ‘the most photographed physique in the world’” by Nicholas Newman (Boise State), “Nude self-portraits in the photographs of Renée Cox” by Lisa Farrington (Parsons School of Design)