Art - Page 3

Stephen Tayo is a modern Nigerian photographer who has gained popularity with his photos posted on Instagram. The photographer has been actively publishing street photos of Lagos people for the last few years.

Tayo’s photos reflect the artist’s daily life and show the people who live around him and create a diverse community. Tayo rejects traditional Western influences and draws inspiration from African culture.

As the artist talks to one of the publications, he wants his photos to inspire the need for dialogue and make people think about different topics. Including gender and sexuality.

Stephen Tayo was born in Lagos and he wanted to study anthropology, but because there was no such course at the University of Lagos, he decided to study philosophy. He always wanted to understand more about people and their nature, and this interest and study of philosophy led him to photography.

The artist started taking photos with the iPhone 5 and today he collaborates with such famous publications as; Vogue; The New York Times; Vice; Interview Magazine and Dazed.

His latest photo series What If? offers very interesting photos of drag artists from Lagos. The artist, through a series of photographs, seeks to explain what the world would be like without social and gender expectations and constraints, what it would be like for society to have more acceptance of drag culture.

New Year is the best time to make a loved one happy, and boxes wrapped in gold bows are an integral part of the New Year. The process is more enjoyable if it is a book that prepares a number of enjoyable adventures for the reader.

Offer 8 books on the subject of queerness, which can be an ideal gift for the queer and not only queer people:

Orlando – Virginia Woolf

Translator – Lela Dumbadze

“Orlando” is a cult classic by British author Virginia Woolf, which tells the story of a young nobleman, Orlando, who lives in Great Britain during the time of Elizabeth. At the age of 30, Orlando travels to Constantinople for diplomatic purposes, where she changes her gender and becomes a woman. In the Phantasmagoric Book, Orlando does not grow old and lives for 300 years. During these 300 years, Wolf plays the role of a chronicler and tells us what life is like for women.

Middlesex – Between the Sexes – Jeffrey Eugenides

Translator – Ramaz Khatiashvili

The Pulitzer Prize-winning book Middlesex is by Jeffrey Eugenides, an American author of Greek descent. “Middlesex” is a very diverse novel, which is not limited to the description of intersex human life and tells the heartbreakingly heartbreaking story of the Greco-American family and, at the same time, perfectly describes the fundamental political or social changes in twentieth-century America.

Dissolution – David Gabunia

Davit Gabunia is a modern Georgian playwright, writer and translator, in whose plays you will meet many queer themes and feminist issues. The novel “Dissolution” was published several years ago and tells the story of one family. Tina and Zura’s family may seem ideal at first glance, but everything changes after Zura starts stalking a gay man next door.

Queer Feelings (Translation Collection)

Translators – Salome Kinkladze, Nargiza Arjevanidze, Nukri Tabidze, Lasha Kavtaradze, Ana Iluridze, Mariam Kajaia

Queer Feelings is a collection of translations published with the support of the South Caucasus Regional Office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation. The book combines essays by queer and feminist authors (Yves Kosovski Sejwick, Audrey Lorde, Jose Esteban Munoz, Anne Tsvetkovic, Sarah Ahmed, Lauren Berlant, Dean Speed). The collection of essays asks critical questions and tries to answer with the reader what the queer theory is, how gay and lesbian movements take shape today, what the fight for stone rights means, and so on.

Tskvdiad’s left hand – Ursula Le Guin

Translator – Nika Samushia

The Left Hand of Tskvdiad is a science fiction novel by Canadian author Ursula Le Guin, published in the 1960s and revolutionizing the science fiction genre. The action in the novel takes place on the fictional planet Gethen. On a snow-covered planet, where there is no simple definition of woman and man, the king becomes pregnant and lives people who, it can be said, have no sex.

Watches – Michael Cunningham

Translator – David Akriani

“Clocks” is a 21st century novel by Michael Cunningham, which tells the story of women living in three different times, in the city and in society. The first character, Virginia Woolf, is trying to deal with mental problems. The second protagonist is a reader of Virginia Woolf in the late 40s, after World War II, in a traditional, unmarried marriage. The third character is Clarice, who lives in modern times. The story of queer women perfectly reflects the role of women in three different times and offers the reader an interesting rethinking of queer and feminist issues.

Purifier – Andro Dadiani

“Purifier” is a poetic collection of contemporary Georgian queer author and artist Andro Dadiani, in which the author tells us with uncompromising nature about the difficulties of being born a queer person, the pain that destroys people’s lives, a society that does not recognize minority rights and kills transgender people. Andro Dadiani is known to the Georgian society for his performances, with which the artist responds to various topical and painful political or social issues. Yet his poetry is more than just a reflection.

Roasted green tomatoes in the cafe “Whistle Stop” – Phany Fleg

Translator – Nino Mikashavidze

“Fried Green Tomatoes” is a real treasure trove of American literature and perfectly reflects the most difficult, major years of the American Depression of the last century. The novel, full of sadness and human stories, perfectly describes what minorities have gone through, what their lives have been like in the last century, and how American society has begun to increase its sensitivity to queer and not only queer issues.

Call me by your name – Andre Asiman

Translator – Guram Gongadze

“Call Me Your Name” is a book by Andre Asiman, which tells the story of 17-year-old Elio. The action in the novel takes place in the 1980s, in one of the provincial cities of Italy. A 24-year-old Oliver arrives as a guest in the family of university professors, towards whom Elio has feelings. The audience also saw the film adaptation of the exciting love story, where the main role is played by Timothy Shalame.

November 20 is International Transgender Remembrance Day, on which people around the world pay tribute to transgender people who have been victims of transphobia / homophobia.

We present 7 films that present the lives of transgender people from different angles, their struggle for LGBT + rights and equality.

Ma Vie en Rose (My Life in Pink) 1997

Ma Vie en Rose (My Life in Pink) is a film by Belgian director Alain Berliner. The Golden Globe-winning film tells the story of one family. Hannah and Pierre have been dreaming for a long time and move into a new house with little Ludovico, who does not obey gender norms and introduces herself to everyone as a girl.

The cult film of the 90s very well shows how gender frameworks and definitions can harm a minor. The whole settlement is set against Ludovico. However, at the same time, the film with childish naivety describes Ludovico’s life in shades of pink.

Tangerine 2015

“Mandarin” is a 2015 film with an equal footing in the genres of comedy and drama. The girls decide to take revenge and embark on strange adventures.

The film also features non-professional actors and the entire film is shot on the iPhone 3 5S, with further editing and color correction done entirely through mobile apps. The film has won numerous prestigious awards.

Todo sobre mi madre (All about my mother) 1999

“All About My Mother” is a film by Pedro Almodovar, which brought great success to the Spanish director. Filmed with bright colors and strange scenery, the film tells the story of Manuela, who after the death of her son decides to travel from Madrid to Barcelona and meet Manuel’s father, a transgender woman who does not yet know that she had a child.

Pedro Almodovar’s Oscar-winning film is both dramatic and surprisingly funny, you will meet a lot of transgender people, gays, lesbians, sex workers in the film. The director responds with a characteristic handwriting to the AIDS outbreak of the 80s, the problems of stony love and human birth.

Raising Koi 2016

“Raising Koi” is a documentary film that responds to a high-profile incident that took place in 2013. Jeremy and Katherine are the parents of 5 children, one of the children, 7-year-old Koi, is a transgender girl, the child came out in kindergarten and everything went well, although the events developed dramatically after going to school. The girl has problems on the first day of school and the principal warns the parents that the child should only use the boys’s toilet.

Following a major change in the principal, the child’s parents, with the help of various NGOs, began to fight against unfair school charters and eventually achieved that every child in California today chooses which toilet to use and which sports to play in.

In a Year of 13 Moons (197 lunar year) 1978

“Year 13 of the Moon” is one of the latest films by the legendary German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder, which was dedicated to the memory of his girlfriend, Arvin Meyer. The film tells the story of a transgender woman, Elvira, who decides to change her gender because of her beloved man.

According to many film critics, Fassbinder’s 1978 film is the pinnacle of the director’s creativity. With poetic footage, dramatic storytelling, and flawless performance by Walker Spingler, the film perfectly depicts the life and hardships of a transgender person.

The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert 1994

The Adventures of Desert Queen Priscilla is another film that tells the story of three friends. A transgender, cross-dresser, and drag queen friends decide to drive to the desert to attend a drag queen evening.

Recognized as a classic, the film perfectly manages to portray marginalized groups with the help of comedy, all the characters in the film are free from stereotypes, however, at the same time, they do not lose their brightness and evoke positive emotions in the audience.

Wild Side 2004

“Wild Side” is a film by the modern French director Sebastian Lifshitz, which tells the story of Stephanie, who is involved in sex work. Stephanie returns from Paris to take care of her sick mother. The seemingly sad story changes after Stephanie develops feelings for his flatmates, Algerian Jamal, and Russian Mikhail.

In the film, there are themes which are very skillfully and easily changing, the themes of love and death, Stephanie, on the one hand, tries to cope with a sick mother with whom she has many unspoken issues, and on the other hand, tries to cope with a new relationship with two men. The title of the film is borrowed from a famous song by Lou Reed.

German and French soldiers in captivity of war, the secret twentieth-century American cross-dressing society, the glamorous Parisian cabaret dancers who disobeyed gender boundaries – these are the people you met in Sebastian Lifshitz’s photo collection though you had many in common, they lived at different times In a hostile society they tried to express themselves.

Sebastian Lifshitz has been collecting photos of crossdressers and drag quinces for 25 years. Collecting photos The French filmmaker and activist started in his teens, he wanted to understand how queer people lived in the past. In the lost, doomed photos he found the history of queer people and showed the new generation of queers where the struggle for sexual freedom began and what they had to convey to people living in a time when queerness meant the loss of life.

Why did you start collecting these photos?

Sebastian Lifshitz: As a teenager, I often went to antique markets where I came across lost photographs whose fate no one cared about. Since I was studying art and I loved photography, I was very excited to make such discoveries. So I started buying them and I accumulated a lot. These photos had no value for the seller, I was buying them at a very low price.

The anonymity behind the photos is awesome

Sebastian Lifshitz: These photos were not meant to hit the walls, at that time the public was very hostile towards queer people, so these photos were dangerous. Can you imagine these photos falling into the hands of someone who has bad intentions? This one person would definitely ruin the lives of these people. So I was amazed when I found these photos and bought them.

Queer culture is very popular in the media today and people think it is something new that has no past and no history. Which is very wrong. These people have always existed and my photos also tell the story of crossdressers and drag queend, I want to show people with these photos that this daring behavior has a past and it existed a long time ago.

These photos are comprehensive – they tell a very long history of crossdressers and drag queens at different times and places.

How did you connect these photos to different sections of history?

Sebastian Lifshitz: The photos are mostly from America and Europe. And, often, I found them one by one. I did not have any information about these photos, but over the years I have been doing research, which has resulted in very interesting links between the photos. For example, there was a connection between the Prisoners’ Camp, the Mock Wedding, and the Cabaret. I also bought photos of the Washington community together and soon realized that they were one group. They were a secret group who often met secretly and arranged parties where they wore what they did and felt safe. America was very strict with cross-dressers and LGBT + people before the war, so can you imagine what risks they had to take ?!

There are too many cross-dressers in these photos, so these photos are not just about cross-dressing, these photos are about identities, these are games that people play, this is our past politics and sometimes in these photos you will meet very personal. I do not want to have one particular feeling when looking at photos of a person interested in photography and queer culture. These photos are much more than just fun people and tailoring people of the opposite sex.

What prompted you to display these photos?

Sebastian Lifshitz: Collecting has no value if you do not share it with others. I tried to create stories, great stories in different parts and it was a very enjoyable process for me. These people in these photos to me are pre-punks, marginalized and rebellious people who had the courage and even managed to express themselves in a hostile environment. Because I love these photos, people believe that the past is more conservative, tougher and more correct, but that is not the case. The rebellious spirit has always existed and it can be seen in these photos as well – a celebration of the rebellious lifestyle.

Some of the photos are very old and I am fascinated by the liberal actions that were taking place in the nineteenth century. Why do you think it took so long to accept gender diversity?

Sebastian Lifshitz: A lot of people have hated crossdressers for years, and it still do. Even gay people do not have an acceptance of crossdressers, after the war, the gay community wanted to create a different image of gay men and it fit the macho elements … the label of the sexiest man. The gay community did not want to associate them with cross-dressers. It was considered a shame.

Very interesting is the series of photos of “Drag Soldiers”, which shows cross-dressing soldiers living in military camps in France and Germany after the First and Second World Wars. Why do you think people use gender identity for liberation?

Sebastian Lifshitz: There were only men in the military camps, so in the camp theater, men needed to adjust to women’s clothing to embody a female character. There was no other choice. That was the only solution. The most ridiculous fact is that some men were very popular for wearing women’s clothes in the camp and at the same time, these soldiers did not try to exaggerate gender representations, their roles and costumes were very realistic, which is very surprising considering the circumstances which are very difficult and It was repressive.

In your photos you will find one of the most legendary crossdresser, Bambi and the story of how a little boy turned into a queer woman.

Sebastian Lifshitz: Bambi is a very precious person to me. When I met her, I knew nothing about her, I only knew her name. One day she told me her story and we went together to Bambi’s hometown, Algeria. What fascinates her most about Bambi’s story is her ability to rewrite her own story.

Tell us more about Bambi.

Sebastian Lifshitz: Bambi was born in 1935 in a small, closed village in Algeria. At that time it was impossible to talk about sex, identity and similar topics. Can you imagine what life could have been like at that time, in a village for a 6-year-old boy who thought she was a little girl? Bambi’s mother allowed her young child to dress as the boy wanted, her hair was long, but at the age of 6, when it came time to go to school, her mother said, “Okay, now we have to cut our hair and stop dressing, it’s over, forget it.” At the time she realized she was biologically a boy – she always thought she was a girl.

For many, many years she had to live as a little boy, but deep down in her heart she felt like she was a girl. One day, when Bambi was 15 years old, French cabaret dancers visited the city and while watching their performance, Bambi realized that you might have a dignified life and not lose your identity. It was a kind of rebirth, after which she quickly traveled to Paris and joined the cross-dressing community. Although French society at the time was still hostile to crossdressers, it did not interest her, Bambi was not going to make a deal with the homophobic community.

What happened to Bambi after that?

Sebastian Lifshitz: At the age of 30, Bambi realized he could no longer continue dancing in the cabaret. So she decided to continue her studies, get a diploma and become a French teacher in a strange French city. She wanted be an anonymous woman. Anonymity was very important to her. She wanted to be an ordinary woman in everyday life. Now she is an elegant tall woman.

It is very inspiring to hear Bambi’s story about how she went to the cabaret and how she decided to make his life perfect. What should the new generation, who are in search of their own identity, focus on when studying history?

Sebastian Lifshitz: Society is more complex and tangled than it seems at first glance. There are traditional, ready-made models that have to be adapted, if you want to be a woman, you definitely have to look like a woman, if you want to be a man, it was necessary to look like a man, the division between the sexes is still very strong. Take a look at the little kids toys, it’s amazing how the toy forces the little one to adapt to the already existing models. For me it’s very painful, I do not like and I do not agree, because as I said above, people are more complex. The range of identities is so diverse and massive, people need to express themselves the way they want it to be and how they feel internally, unfortunately, often does not match the way we see them.

Source: DAZED

Photo:Sebastian Lifshitz

Translation:: Zura Abashidze

The open-air theater season will open on November 27, with a new play by Davit Khorbaladze, UNMEMORY. The play is about continuous transformation of memory. Over time, memory decays, and eventually events and facts are so damaged that, in fact, nothing can be left out of them. Constant is just change. I wonder how the human moving body adapts to variability.

The main target of the performance is the spectator memory, on which the play manipulates through music. Music that instills a sense of infinity is the most important element of UNMEMORY. With visual narratives full of sounds, allusions and associations, the group will try to create a model of the world that reaches out to a static past and selflessly strives to join the fluidity of the future.

Open Space is an independent art company that aims to develop visual and performing arts in Georgia. The aim of the company is to discover artists and give them the opportunity to develop professional skills, self-expression and connection with each other, to create an environment for complete creative freedom and unrestricted methods of self-realization.

Performance Working Group

Related: Davit Khorbaladze Against Stone Exoticism

On May 18, 1981, the New York Native, the only gay newspaper in New York, published an article on a deadly disease that would later be called AIDS. This article completely changed the life of the queer community in New York and began a multi-year battle with the disease that killed many queer people. But a few years before the virus spread, the 1969 Stonewall Uprising made the streets of New York look like a paradise, a new generation of queer people enjoying freedom, no longer needing to live in the shadows and constantly hiding.

The Stonewall Uprising not only had a positive impact on Queer society but also on art, making New York a mecca of art, culture and creativity. The streets were filled with happy and joyful people creating new currents of art, telling stories with new interpretations. Bars, clubs and parks were filled with the sounds of hip-hop, punk and disco. Artistic groups took over abandoned buildings and turned them into art galleries. Life was easier, creating art and saving oneself, the air was also charged differently. A new generation of artists freed art from captivity and took it out of white galleries to the streets where everyone could enjoy it.

Stanley Steller’s photographic lens retains unique shots from those years, and at the same time, the Brooklyn-born artist remembers well his childhood, the lives of queer people before the Stonewall Uprising of the 1950s and 1960s. He remembers the dark shadow that was on all the queer people, “At the age of 10, the media told me that I was horrible and I should feel lucky if someone decided not to kill me, once they understood my orientation. We almost did not exist. ” After Coming out, Steller decided to explore New York well and realized that the place of queer people was almost nowhere in town, and everything changed in the 1970s, he remembers the day when he felt it. Walking down the street with an older man, the world was full of love and romance and he realized that at last the dark time was a thing of the past.

The dark times and the hostile society took away a lot from Stanley Steller, but gave him the most precious thing – a passion for photography. The first camera the artist bought in 1976, “Some people get involved in sports, some do music, I wanted to take photos,” he wanted to use his photos to answer questions about what gay life means and where it is.

In the 1970s, while filming LGBT + people, he realized that he was living in a truly amazing time. “Christopher Street was a paradise,” he says. “Suddenly I realized that I was part of a great story. As soon as I started taking photos, I realized that I was saving the most remarkable time in the history of stoneware on my photoshoot.”

Stellar mainly portrayed the lives of queer people in the West Village, also referred to as the Eden period, the years of freedom – when everyone in New York had the opportunity to live their lives the way they wanted to. “I had a friend who opened a store in New York and called it ‘Now.’

The store did not work for a long time, but it was not the main thing, the main thing was that for the first time in history we felt that we could, we could be proud, we could turn on the light and tell people – come on! I am very lucky to have shared this degree of freedom, I am happy to have lived in that time. We are not Alexander the Great, nor the Michelangels, nor the Rock Hudson, we were ordinary children who rode in subway cars every day to find freedom, love, friendship, and people.

Source: Dazed

Photo: სტენლი სტელარი

Translation: ზურა აბაშიძე

The year 2020 was a very difficult year for the independent cinema. 2 years after the Covid Pandemic has started, we’ve got a number of closed movie theaters, stopped production and the rise of online streaming services.

However, despite all this, quite a few LGBTQ+ themed movies were produced in the last 2 years. Here are 10 films that portray various LGBTQ+ issues:

Maschile singolare (2021) Italy

Maschile singolare is a 2021 film by Italian directors Alessandro Guida and Mateo Pilat. It tells a story of a young gay man, Antonio, who decides to start a new life after divorcing his husband, Lorenco.

The movie beautifully portrays relationship difficulties and asks a question once again: Is it okay to give up one’s own future and independence for a marriage?

Firebird (2020), Estonia, UK

Firebird is another queer movie that premiered this spring, that tells a story of forbidden love. Sergey and Roman are soldiers in the USSR army during the cold war, as they develop feelings toward each other.

The main role in the melodrama is played by Tom Prior, with some unforgettable scenes. The film has received some positive reviews from the film critics.

My First Summer (2020) Australia

My First Summer is a 2020 film of coming of age genre, that tells a story of 2 adolescent girls that fall in love. 16-year-old Claudia that is brought up away from the outside world is going through a tough time. Her mother has passed away and she is trying to deal with the loss. Everything changes after she meets Grace.

Well Rounded (2020) Canada

Well Rounded is a 61-minute documentary, the creator and director of which is a Canadian comedian Candy Palmater. The documentary tells stories about LGBTQ+ people that apart from homophobia are dealing with racism and aggressive attitudes toward overweight people. The stories told in the documentary are horrible at first glance, but at the same time, telling these stories out loud is revolutionary, liberating, radical, and will inevitably bring positive results in the future.

Cured (2021) America

1950ies and 1960ies were extremely difficult times for the American and non-American queer society. During this time being a LGBTQ+ community member meant that a person could lose their job, be exiled from the society and at worst – have to go through the shock treatment.

Cured is a documentary in which gender researchers, activists and historians discuss these decades. Despite this, the movie shows some unique footage that has never been accessible to the public before and stories of the people that fought for the freedom of the queer community at those times.

Cowboys (2021) America

Cowboys is another by the director Anna Kerrigan. It’s about one American family, the father of which is trying to protect his transgender child both from the world that is not friendly with such people and from the mother, who finds it difficult to accept her little boy.

In this cliché-free movie, besides remarkable acting, we see beautiful landscapes of montana, and such topics as: mental health, the problems of young transgender individuals and the process of acceptance in families.

Where Love Lives (2021) UK 

Where Love Lives is another documentary that tells us the history of the legendary club Glitterbox, the dance floor and the meaning of those queer places that are a safe haven for the LGBTQ+ individuals.

In this movie, the pioneers of the dance floor and DJs – Honey Dijon, TeTe Bang, Lucy Fizz da Jellybean tell us about their experience. We also see the actor of Pose, Bill Porter, who says that the only thing that saved his life was the dance floor.

The Dose (La Daosis) (2020) – Spain

The Dose is an Argentine thriller released in 2020. The action in the film takes place in the palliative department and the main character is Marcos, a night shift caretaker who secretly helps sick patients with euthanasia. The action in the homoerotic mystical thriller intensifies after young Gabriel starts working in the clinic, who is categorically against euthanasia and towards whom Marcos experiences conflicting feelings.

Kiss Me Before It Blows Up (Kiss Me Kosher) (2020) Germany, Israel

Kiss Me Before It Blows Up ისრაელი რეჟისორის, შირელ პელეგის 2020 წლის ფილმია, რომელიც გენდერის, რელიგიის, რასისა და ქვიარ სიყვარულის საინტერესო გადააზრებას გვთავაზობს. ფილმში მოქმედება თელ-ავივში მიმდინარეობს, ბარის მეპატრონე შირა გადაწყვეტს, რომ თავის ებრაულ ოჯახს გააცნოს გერმანელი საცოლე, მარია, რაც ოჯახის წევრებს შორის კონფლიქტს იწვევს და ქორწინების მართებულობას ეჭვქვეშ აყენებს.

Sweetheart (2021) UK 

One of the highlights of the Glasgow Film Festival is the comedy Sweetheart coming of age, which tells the story of 17-year-old AJ who does not want to spend a vacation with her family at the beach, where there is no Wi-Fi and no entertainment for the weird 17-year-old AJ.

AJ is doomed to spend days with her family in boredom, however everything changes after the girl meets Isla and she develops some romantic feelings towards her.

Israeli-born Harari, 45, received his doctorate from Oxford University. He is the author of bestsellers: Sapiens – A Short History of Mankind; Homo Deus – A Brief History of Tomorrow; 21 lessons for the 21st century; Sapiens – Graphic History, Volume I. Next week his next book, Sapiens – Graphic History Volume II, Pillars of Civilizations will be published. Harari lives with his husband near Tel Aviv and gives history lectures at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Photograph: Jonas Holthaus/Laif/Camera Press

When were you happiest?

Now. My expectations are more tailored to reality than they were 20 or 10 years ago.

What is your biggest fear?

We will destroy humanity in such a way that we can not even comprehend what we have lost.

What are your earliest memories?

My earliest recollection of history is the First Lebanon War and the Falkland War. I was six years old then. I remember watching the sinking of the ship HMS Sheffield on TV, which made a big impression on me.

Which living person do you admire and why?

On a personal level, my friend who is a single mother raising two children in this Covid era is a real hero. From the historical persona, Mikhail Gorbachev, who, I think, saved the world from World War III.

A character trait that you do not like in yourself.

All properties have positive and negative potential, the main thing is to learn how to use it. For example, anger and justice are one and the same – get angry or seek justice.

What is the most valuable thing you own?

My body.

Describe yourself in three words.

I think I can not describe anyone in three words.

What would be your superpower?

I can see things as they really are.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?

I find it hard to smile, especially if I am asked. I’m a little tired of all the photos.

Can you pick any lost item to revive what would you choose?

I would save the coral reefs, they have not disappeared yet, though it seems that they will.

What is your worst habit?

I think I do not express enough gratitude to the people around me, however, I think they already know how I appreciate them.

What scares you in old age?

Loss of mental capacity.

A book that you have not read and are ashamed of.

None. I do not think you must read any book.

Who did you want to be when you were growing up?

Someone who is loved.

The worst thing that was ever told to you.

I spent years meditating to get rid of such things. I think I succeeded.

What is it that makes you happy and makes you feel guilty about it?

I do not feel guilty about pleasure.

What do you owe your parents?

Many thanks. They were always with me. Sometimes they did not know how to help me, or what to do, but they always did their best, even when I was young and I did a lot of stupid things in front of them.

What or who is the biggest love of your life?

My husband, Itzik. Although we are both from the same small town in Israel, we met each other 20 years ago on one of the dating sites. We got married in 2010 in Toronto.

Your worst job.

When I was 16, I used to work in a factory during the summer holidays, where industrial valves were made. I was a manufacturer of industrial valves which is much worse than a historian.

The biggest disappointment.

I still can not understand what life is. When I was young, I thought I would at least find someone who understood this. I am already 45 years old and there is a great chance that I will never meet such a person.

If you could change the past, what would you change?

I would have come out at the age of 16-17 and not – 21.

When was the last time you cried and why?

A few years ago, my dog ​​died. We were vacationing in Greece, he had left us with a friend and was bitten by a snake. We went back, though we were late.

When was the last time you changed your mind about something very important?

This year, about Covid. With regard to key issues, I believe in the need for global cooperation, watching the world realize last year that it is much, much more difficult than I thought. Maybe even impossible.

When were you closest to death?

I was 13 years old when the bus almost took hit me. Also during the Gulf War in 1991, an Iraqi rocket landed near my house.

The most important lesson that life has taught you.

That everything changes, people are never satisfied and all identities are fiction.

What happens when we die?

I wrote quite a lot about it. I think consciousness is not a solid thing, but we have a feeling that it is the same as it was a minute ago, a day or a year ago, but in reality, it is not at all clear what connects this minute consciousness with the consciousness of the future. If we could understand this, we would also understand what happens when we die. Of course, I do not understand this, so I do not know.

Tell us the secret…

The people who run the world do not understand this.

Source: theguardian.com

Photo on main: Photograph: Antonio Olmos for the Observer New Review

Diane Arbus (1923 – 1971) is an American photographer, that photographed the oppressed and marginalized society living in New-York. She shot striptease dancers, women that brought up children by themselves, children growing up in poverty, elderly people and middle-class families.

Diane Arbus was born in 1923 in Manhattan to a Jewish family. Her parents were wealthy immigrants from the Soviet Union who owned a department store on Fifth Avenue. At the age of 18, Diane married her childhood friend, Alan Arbus, who gave her the first camera and helped her study photography. During her career, Diane wasn’t very successful. The artist’s works didn’t sell well, and she often had to work on undesirable, commercial projects to support herself. The artist was also depressed, which eventually lead to her committing suicide at the age of 48.

Diane Arbus tried to not only photograph the marginalized groups, but also to show people where they leave, where they work, what the streets around them look like. Her photos were printed in such magazines as Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, Sunday Times Magazines and Artforum. Diane Arbus is the first photographer whose works made it to the Bienalle in Venezia. Her private exhibition that was held after her suicide is considered to be the most attended by MoMA in the history.

Here are some of her works:

The Untitled Gallery is Hosting the Exhibition “Queer Chronicles”

Queer Chronicles consists of 4 installations by 4 artists. The installations have been created at the intersection of real and conventional times and physical and digital spaces, and they respond to the issues of the processes of creation, transformation and disappearing of queer identities.

4 artists are participating in the exhibition: Davit Apakidze, Mari Mghebrishvili, Paolannder and Aghababa Bagirov.

One of the exhibitors, Davit Apakidze, told Queer.ge that he was particularly interested in creating an installation for the exhibition and participating in the workshop, as it all started when people lost space due to the pandemic and Covid regulations. His work reflects how spaces for queer people collapse and disappear.

Art historian and founder of Project Fungus is optimistic about Georgian queer culture, saying that Georgian queer artists, unlike heterosexual artists, do not lose touch with Georgian culture and traditions. Their work better reflects the past and the novelty, compared to the heterosexual artists that are less repressed and whose work is nurtured by the influence of European culture. To illustrate this, he recalls the famous Horoom Night, which turned out to be a turning point for queer artists and the LGBTQ+ community in general.

Queer Chronicles was created in collaboration with the Women’s Initiative Support Group, The Untitled Gallery, Salam Cinema [Baku] and the Goethe-Institute in Georgia, as a result of a 4-day practical workshop on the production of queer spaces in LGBTQIA + communities organized by the Berlin-based Polygon.

The exhibition opened on October 16 and will be open to the public for 8 days, until October 24.

Author: Zura Abashidze