Getty's New LGBTQ+ Exhibition Features Rare Books, Artists’ Books, and Archival Materials
Front Line of Freedom San Francisco: Queer as a Three Dollar Bill, offset print, ca. 1981, by Ken Wood
The Getty Research Institute's new exhibition $3 Bill: Evidence of Queer Lives opens today exploring queer representation through a range of materials dating from 1900 to the present day.
“This exhibition honors the rich legacy and vibrant creativity of queer communities,” said Mary Miller, director of the Getty Research Institute. “It traces the path from early 20th century pioneers who challenged norms around sexuality and gender, through the transformative activism of the gay liberation era and the profound impact of the HIV/AIDS crisis, to the broader, more inclusive understandings of identity we see today.”
Running through September 28, $3 Bill begins with an exploration of queer art and identity in the early to mid-20th century. This section features compelling images of Harlem drag balls from the 1940s and 1950s, drawn from the Johnson Publishing Company records, alongside illustrated and artists’ books, prints, drawings and photographs by notable figures such as Claude Cahun, Jean Cocteau, Jean Genet, and David Hockney.
The second half of the exhibition focuses on the past 50 years of queer history and creative expression. Among the items here is Entendido, the first magazine created by and for the gay community in Venezuela (1980–83), represented through portraits and documentation of local queer communities and drag queen balls.
A central focus of the exhibition is the impact of the HIV/AIDS crisis on queer communities. At the heart of this section is The AIDS Chronicles, a project developed by members of the Los Angeles-based Institute of Cultural Inquiry (ICI) from 1993 to 2019. The artists collected and preserved the front pages of the New York Times - and in some years, the Los Angeles Times - every day for 26 years, The pages are completely covered with deep red, blood-looking acrylic paint, with the exception of titles/stories dealing with HIV/AIDS, presenting a meditation on visibility and memory. Surrounding this installation are materials related to HIV/AIDS activism and contemporary artistic responses, including posters created during the epidemic.
“This exhibition has been two years in the making, and on many levels, the situation for queer and LGBTQ+ people today is much worse than when I started this project,” said Pietro Rigolo, curator of the exhibition. “All I wish and hope for $3 Bill is to offer a space for contemplation and celebration of our own unique beauty and accomplishments, and room for reflection."
