HIDE/SEEK at the Tacoma Art Museum

With the ink of Governor Gregoire’s signature still barely dry on the marriage equality bill, controversy over equal rights for gays in Washington is sure to continue in the coming months. In light of this, the Tacoma Art Museum’s next exhibit seems particularly timely. Beginning March 17th, TAM presents HIDE/SEEK: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture – the final stop (and only West Coast destination) for the historic show that puts a spotlight on how lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender identity has shaped American portraiture – a topic not without its own controversy.

Quoted in a recent article in The Stranger, art historian Jonathan Katz, one of the show’s original curators, gives his perspective on the art-world context of the collection: “The American museum world is now more conservative than international banking… It is one of the most conservative spaces in our country.” Putting aside how the museum world compares to the banking world, many museums do indeed omit homosexuality as an issue in exhibits, and this particular show has certainly not been immune to censorship, as recounted in the review from The Stranger.

Described by the New York Times as an “Historic event,” the show was originally organized by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and has been re-organized by TAM and the Brooklyn Museum. The show is a survey of nearly 150 years of American art and includes more than 100 works by artists including Thomas Eakins, John Singer Sargent, Georgia O’Keeffe, Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and more. The show invites viewers to explore issues of sexual identity through a variety of artworks, and from the sound of it, doesn’t pull any punches.

More information at TacomaArtMuseum.org

Read more, including some nice things about TAM from The Stranger.