The Queer Encyclopedia of the Visual Arts

by Claude Summers (Editor)

Overview

A distinctly queer presence permeates the history of the visual arts — from Michelangelo's David and homoerotic images on ancient Greek vases to Frida Kahlo's self-portraits and the photography of Claude Cahun and Robert Mapplethorpe. The Queer Encyclopedia of the Visual Arts is a comprehensive work showcasing the enormous contribution of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer artists to painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and architecture.

International in scope, the volume includes overviews of the various periods in art history, from Classical Art to Contemporary Art and from African Art to Erotic and Pornographic Art; discussions of topics ranging from AIDS Activism in the Arts, Censorship in the Arts, and the Arts and Crafts Movement to Pulp Paperbacks and Their Covers; surveys of the representation of various subjects in the visual arts, from Androgyny to Vampires; and biographical entries on significant figures in the history of art, such as Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, El Greco, Leonardo da Vinci, David Hockney, Ruth Bernhard, Rosa Bonheur, Romaine Brooks, Simeon Solomon, and Nahum Zenil. Includes more than 100 illustrations and photographs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781573448741
Publisher:	Start Publishing Llc
Publication date:	03/23/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Claude J. Summers, Professor Emeritus in the Humanities at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. A pioneer in the glbtq studies movement, he has published widely on seventeenth- and twentieth-century English literature, including book-length studies of E. M. Forster and Christopher Isherwood, as well as Gay Fictions: Wilde to Stonewall and Homosexuality in Renaissance and Enlightenment England: Literary Representations in Historical Context. He was also general editor of the first two volumes in the Queer Encyclopedia series. In 1996, Professor Summers won a Lambda Literary Award for The Gay and Lesbian Literary Heritage: A Reader's Companion to the Writers and Their Works. The revised edition of The Gay and Lesbian Literary Heritage was named one of the best reference books of 2003 by the New York Public Library. Summers lives in New Orleans. The Queer Encyclopedia of Film and Television “Indispensable for aficionados.” — Out magazine “A treat for casual fans and hardcore enthusiasts.” — The Washington Blade “The best introduction to the major themes and artists associated with queer art currently available.” — Library Journal "Provides a sound overview of the topic at hand while encouraging and supporting further exploration." — Booklist

Editorial Reviews

This carefully organized reference work does an admirable job of looking at the history of elite and popular art with a queer eye. Almost 200 short essays explore representations of same-sex desire across time (from homoeroticism in Classical sculpture to the postmodern lesbian photography of Deborah Bright) and space (from cross-dressing in African art to AIDS activism in contemporary U.S. art). Taken as a whole, the essays offer the best introduction to the major themes and artists associated with queer art currently available. The entries are arranged alphabetically and conclude with both a brief bibliography and See also cross references. Summers (English, emeritus, Univ. of Michigan, Dearborn) understands sexual identity as a historical construct and avoids anachronistically claiming that Donatello or Parmigianino, for example, are "queer artists." Likewise, the claims made by the authors of the entries, a variety of scholars and artists, are both precise and measured. Bottom Line Impressive in scope, this work is strongly recommended for public and undergraduate libraries.-Katherine C. Adams, Bowdoin Coll., Brunswick, ME Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal