PULSE Nightclub: 49 Elegies
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© John Gutoskey
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PULSE Nightclub: 49 Elegies is a series made to honor and commemorate each of the 49 people massacred at the LGBTQ PULSE nightclub in Orlando, Florida on June 12, 2016.
Although I did not know any of the victims personally, I felt an overwhelming sense of anger followed by a broad feeling of loss and an almost metaphysical sadness that this had happened to the LGBTQ community; that it had happened inside what was supposed to be a safe, sacred queer space; and that it had happened to a minority within a minority, as it was Latin night at PULSE Nightclub. - John Gutoskey Gutoskey uses symbols that are personal to him and his experience as a gay man, and combines them with other cultural and spiritual iconography that are more universally understood to create the 49 visual elegies or poems. |
Despite playing across a range of imagery and palettes, the final presentation is extremely unified, successfully presenting a crowd of individuals. Gutoskey’s tribute is as vibrant and beautiful, and shot through with chaos, as the victims whose lives and bodies were broken to pieces two years ago — and perhaps offers those who continue to live with the tragedy a visual language with which to express their grief.
- Sarah Rose Sharp, HYPERALLERGIC June 2018
PULSE Nightclub: 49 Elegies addresses not only the loss, the grief and the aftermath of such a tragic event, but also makes reference to the current issues of gun violence, homophobia, Hispanophobia, violence against people of color and the transgender community, and LGBTQ rights. The 49 mixed-media monoprints in this series combine woodcut, collage, digital images from photographs and scans, stencil, spray enamel, glitter, colored pencil, art paper, gift wrap paper, and alcohol gel transfer decals.
- Sarah Rose Sharp, HYPERALLERGIC June 2018
PULSE Nightclub: 49 Elegies addresses not only the loss, the grief and the aftermath of such a tragic event, but also makes reference to the current issues of gun violence, homophobia, Hispanophobia, violence against people of color and the transgender community, and LGBTQ rights. The 49 mixed-media monoprints in this series combine woodcut, collage, digital images from photographs and scans, stencil, spray enamel, glitter, colored pencil, art paper, gift wrap paper, and alcohol gel transfer decals.
Number of objects: 49 Prints on 28" x 20" paper each
Rental fee: $5000 for 8 to 12 weeks
Rental fee: $5000 for 8 to 12 weeks
News and press
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Awards:
Juried 2D at Artprize 2018 https://www.artprize.org/68075 2018 Alpha & Omega Prize for Contemporary Religious Arts Press: https://www.grmag.com https://www.woodtv.com |
| HYPERALLERGIC June 2018 |
| alpha_omega_arts__john_gutoskey.pdf |