LGBTQ+ History Month is a chance for us to look back on LGBTQ+ representation in the Arts & Theatre industry, and consider how the community has changed the Arts & Theatre world for the better. We have taken a look through the community’s huge achievements within our industry, and selected some of our favourite works that we believe showcases the skill and passion the LGBTQ+ community have brought to the arts.
‘Untitled’ (Portrait of Ross in L.A.) by Félix González-Torres ~ Lucy Riddell
This unique and innovative 1991 work by Félix González-Torres has been called a sculpture by some critics, but if it is a sculpture, it’s an ever-changing one. The piece consists of a large pile of 175 pounds of brightly-coloured individually-wrapped sweets. At first glance, the art looks exciting and vibrant – perhaps its theme is childhood joy or sickly sweetness, or maybe it’s making a commentary on commercialism? Without context on the piece, it would be easy to draw one of these conclusions about González-Torres’ pile of sweets.
But when you learn what it’s really about, you’ll come to look it at in a different light, as a much more sobering and thought-provoking piece. The collective 175 pounds of the sweets equals the weight of the artist’s partner, Ross Laycock. Laycock fell victim to AIDS and passed away in 1991. Visitors to this installation are invited to take a sweet, and so with time the piece changes shape and loses weight, slowly dwindling away just like Laycock’s own body as it gradually succumbed to the effects of AIDS.
The theme of loss and grief so central to this work is compounded even further by the fact that the artist himself also died due to complications from AIDS in 1996, just five years after creating this piece. The pile of sweets still stands today, although diminished; it is currently on display at the Art Institute of Chicago, serving as a tragic reminder of the AIDS crisis and of just how important it is to listen to LGBTQ+ voices.
& Juliet ~ Sophie Layton
There are many LGBTQ+ works in the Arts & Theatre industry that are worth you enjoying in LGBTQ+ History Month, and the one that I keep returning to is a particular storyline within the West End and Broadway musical & Juliet. The musical, about continuing the classic Shakespeare tale but without Juliet having died, adds in several new characters to the plot, one of which is May.
May is a deep and complex person who has one of the most visible character progressions in the story. May’s character is Non-Binary, and makes this more apparent as the story goes on. But they are also questioning, another queer identity that so often gets overlooked. May spends the story questioning themselves over their gender and sexuality, but this is treated in such a unique and extraordinary way.
Throughout this story, despite their progression, modern concepts surrounding gender and sexuality aren’t directly acknowledged or made into a specific point of focus. They are highlighted, yes, but not in a way that comes across as a detraction from the story, or an aside. There is no point in & Juliet when May says directly what their gender or sexuality are, and Non-Binary as an identity is explained indirectly, through the lyrics to ‘I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman’. And whilst many may wonder why something that isn’t heavily called upon is my favourite LGBTQ+ work, it embodies the worldly reality of a desirable future for LGBTQ+ people. May’s identity isn’t called out and they don’t have to come out to the other characters, because the story understands that LGBTQ+ people shouldn’t have to clearly state their identity for the understanding of others, and I think this is a hugely positive yet subtle statement to make.
