I really dig this Untitled, [We Are Not] painting by Adam Pendelton. It is actually part of an installation that is currently at MoMA. The installation is called Who is Queen?, which is actually an interesting theme.

He takes the term “queen.” He considers from the point of view of a heterosexual as an insult. From the point of view of a gay man, or perhaps a woman, it takes on a totally different connotation.

If you’re an effeminate gay man, someone would say, “Oh you’re such a queen.” A long time ago, someone said this to me, and on the one hand I was offended and on the other hand I wanted to embrace it. Then I was repulsed by having to decide between one or the other.

There’s something about being a vulnerable being in society. We’re all vulnerable in different ways and at different times. That’s at the heart of Queen, this idea of who we are, what we are, and looking at that in personal but also collective terms. It’s a question I pose to myself but also a question I’m posing to the viewer. 

#art, #artist, #artinstallation, #adampendelton, #exhibition, #identity, #queen