In conjunction with the 13th annual Lavender Languages and Linguistics Conference, the Katzen Arts Center opened the art exhibit "Body Languages," a cultural study of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
The exhibit, co-sponsored by the Department of Anthropology, reflects the conference's themes of communication and language within the GLBT community through visual art, according to a brochure Katzen passed out to exhibit visitors.
The Katzen chose to display the work of artists Mary Coble and Robert Flynt, according to Katzen co-curator Donald Russell. The artists use strong visual imagery to analyze and portray how language is directed towards the GLBT community, Russell said.
"If my art helps to raise a question or explore a thought, I'm happy," Coble said. "That's the main goal."
The new exhibit comments on society's predetermined roles for males and females and highlights those who choose to break free from society's conventions.
"Pictures can say more than words can," said Melissa Borodunovich, a sophomore in the School of Communication. "You can be effected more by something visually and not be able to communicate it verbally."
In Coble's photo series "Blurring Boundaries," striking images of women sporting drawn on mustaches and taping down their breasts capture the act of breaking societal standards of gender.
"What's a guy? What's a girl?" Coble said. "Why does it matter?"
Robert Flynt's work "Partial Disclosures" shows male and female body parts lain together to create a gender neutral image of a human.
Additional works portray images of pain and violence, and represent the negative use of language towards the GLBT population.
"[GLBT Art] helps so people can both visualize the reality and see the beauty of it," said Jeremy Koss, a sophomore in the Kogod School of Business.
In Coble's work "Note to Self," 435 bloodstained pages of white paper are pinned across the wall, each displaying a single name.
During a 12-hour session last fall, Coble had the names of victims of hate crimes etched into her own skin by a tattoo gun and used her own blood as a medium of art.
Although the marks have mostly healed, it is possible to see some semblances of the letters on her skin, Coble said. Just like a hate crime, it is a constant reminder of the pain some suffer for being different, she said.
"It's important for people to go and see [the exhibit], and see why it's important and what it means not to that community but the community in general," said Tai Spargo, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs.
Coble's and Flynt's works are on display until March 14.
