The Gays Are So Domestigayted Nowagays

This mixed media assemblage on canvas features an antique silver platter affixed to a tectonic inspired background made up of large pieces of thick, early 1900's wall covering which was found on the side of a house in vacant plot of land where the home was deconstructed. I felt so lucky to have stubbled upon this rare gem of a material, clearly left behind from perhaps the original home decor of the building a hundred or more years ago. It is exactly these pieces of history from Philadelphia by which I am enamored. Philadelphia is blessed with some of the deepest layers in the tapestry of the American colonial endeavor and I love the hunt for these buried treasures. Between these pieces a flow of ephemera and nostalgia permeates the space using collaged materials I made and found along the way. The title The Gays are So Domestigayted Nowagays is in reference to the cultural observation that has been made of how the LGBT community has transformed since its inception, going from a more radical punk movement to an acceptable and rather tame domestication.