Lying behind glass doors with a translucent appliqué of the headline, “HIDE/SEEK: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture,” three stark gallery rooms display a diverse array of works examining sexual identity in modern America. The exhibition is the first of its kind in compiling pieces related to a subject that still attracts controversy in today’s society.
Running from Nov. 18 until Feb. 12 at the Brooklyn Museum(200 Eastern Parkway, at Washington avenue), the exhibition follows the story of American sexuality in contemporary art, beginning with Thomas Eakins portraits from the 1880s and ending with an AA Bronson painting from 1994.
A blown up Minor White portrait of a nude male welcomes visitors into the exhibition and is seen in its much smaller original state next to one of White’s iconic nature shots, “Cypress Grove Trail.”
The transition from explicit, large-scale presentation to the subtlety of White’s original prints reflects the overall evolutionary staging of “HIDE/SEEK.”
The historical arrangement of the exhibition demonstrates changing social attitudes towards homosexuality.
Beginning with understated homoerotic works, such as George Bellows’ painting, “Riverfront, No. 1,” of urban working class men socializing at the docks, the progression of pieces moves towards more overt and personalized statements made by gay artists living in a predominantly heterosexual society.
The exhibition dedicates an entire room to a series of Andy Warhol screen tests involving raw footage that explores the reaction of subjects under the intimidation of a camera.
The heavy presence of Warhol and other icons such as Annie Leboivitz and Keith Haring tends to detract from a deeper examination of the “difference and desire” of sexual identity in contemporary portraits. The reliance on big-name artists—who viewers can immediately identify with through pop culture—limits the potential of the showcase to create a perspective of sexual identity based on personal experience and of the development of American outlooks on homosexuality.
Yet within the visual time line, the exhibition follows the various relationships that existed between artists within the artistic community. A photograph of beat novelist William S. Burroughs taken by Allen Ginsberg alludes to the intimacy of their romantic relationship. The prevalence of poet and art critic Frank O’Hara as the subject of many works highlights his importance in the community of gay artists. This underlying narrative of personal dynamics between artists enriches the meaning, and becomes one of the most captivating elements of the exhibition.
The representation of queer and bisexual women is disappointingly sparse, mainly grouped into a series of photographic portraits taken of prominent female intellectuals such as Djuna Barnes and Susan Sontag.
As the exhibition progresses to a modern grouping of works, the pieces move more into commentary, discussing topics such as the stigma created by the AIDS epidemic towards the gay community and the nature of male desirability.
David Wojnarowicz’s controversial film, “A Fire in My Belly,” is a montage of disturbing images and symbols of anguish meant to offer a perspective on AIDS politics. It was originally removed from the showcase when presented at the National Portrait Gallery, due to the protest of religious groups and conservative politicians over the image of ants crawling over a crucifix.
In spite of its graphic imagery, the film hardly seems sacrilegious. Instead, it serves as an important piece in the narrative of the AIDS epidemic and opens a discussion on the condition of human suffering.
The organization and collection of pieces in “HIDE/SEEK” is a thorough, albeit restrained, overview of sexual identity in modern society, which should be further expounded upon in future exhibitions. The simple recognition of such subject matter in a single showcase is a milestone of American art.
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