Date of Award
Spring 3-31-2017
Document Type
Thesis - Open Access
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Fine and Decorative Art and Design
First Advisor
Kathy Battista
Abstract
Art history and history has gaps within it that are just now starting to be filled and the absences rectified. Those gaps are caused by erasure of queer art history. The way it has been rectified is through queer institutions and queer collections. This study explores how queer institutions and collections are innately political through saving queer objects and art. It is through their efforts that queer art history is finally being recognized in major institutions, collections, and exhibitions. I interview scholars and collectors to understand why they collect, which reveals the political nature and uniqueness of queer art as well as exposing how this history has been ignored and finally recognized. By looking at three case studies: Charles Leslie Jr., GLBT Historical Society, and the Alice Austen House, the political nature of the past and future of queer art history is seen.
Recommended Citation
Deters, Alexandria, "We Were There, We Are Here: Queer Collections and Their Repositories and Legacies" (2017). MA Theses. 3.
https://digitalcommons.sia.edu/stu_theses/3
Included in
American Material Culture Commons, Fine Arts Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, Museum Studies Commons