Cruising the Archive: Queer Art and Culture in Los Angeles, 1945-1980

Event Details

A three-part exhibition of artworks alongside archival items culled from the collections at ONE Archives at the USC Libraries

Wink Wink
October 1, 2011 – April 1, 2012
ONE Archives Gallery & Museum, West Hollywood

Rare Looks
October 1, 2011 – May 31, 2012 (Extended through June 23, 2012)
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries, University Park

Queer Worldmaking
January 11 – May 31, 2012
USC Doheny Memorial Library Treasure Room, University Park

Cruising the Archive: Queer Art and Culture in Los Angeles, 1945-1980 is a three-part exhibition that explores the relationship between artistic practices and LGBTQ histories through artworks, objects, and archival documents culled from the collections at ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries. By presenting works of art alongside archival materials from the social and historical context of their production, the exhibition explores the divergent, ambiguous, and sometimes humorous ways in which queer artists and activists in Los Angeles have contributed to the aesthetic and political field of cultural production. Cruising the Archive presents artworks by both established and unknown artists and is the most comprehensive showing of ONE Archives’ art collection to date.

For information on exhibition locations and programs at cruisingthearchive.org. Find information on the Cruising the Archive catalogue here.

Cruising the Archive is organized by David Frantz and Mia Locks and is a part of Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980. This unprecedented collaboration, initiated by the Getty, brings together more than sixty cultural institutions from across Southern California to tell the story of the birth of the L.A. art scene. For more information, please visit pacificstandardtime.org.
Major support for Cruising the Archive is provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and Kathleen Garfield and the Aldridge Families. Additional support is provided by the University of Southern California Libraries, and Jehan Agrama and Dwora Fried. Select public programming is made possible by Visions and Voices: The USC Arts & Humanities Initiative.
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Image: (Top) John Quitman, Homage to Jean Genet, 1971. Oil on canvas 49 x 61 inches. John Quitman Lynch Collection. ONE Archives at the USC Libraries