Whenever the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) opens a new art exhibit, I do a bit of sleuthing. I’m always curious to learn if the featured artists identify as LGBTQ. I believe an intrinsic, subliminal or overt expression of any particular artist’s point of view can be attributed to their sexual orientation. As the saying goes, art is life. By extension, to me, art created by an LGBTQ artist is LGBTQ life. So, when MAM announced “James Nares: Moves,” the first retrospective of his half-century of work, I did my due diligence but found nothing that would confirm or imply his gay identity.
Photo courtesy of Kasmin Gallery
James Nares, Jim, video still, 2015
However, as the opening approached, rumors circulated about an interesting twist in the offing. As it turned out, it was the announcement of James Nares’ transition to “Jamie,” a surprising gender identity reveal to all, including MAM itself. In fact, during the President’s Circle opening, Ms. Nares created a work on site in the museum’s East Gallery. The signage, no doubt prepared well in advance, still identifies the artist as “James.” While the collection in the retrospective is indeed by “James,” the new piece should be labeled “Jamie.” Surely, that will be corrected in due time.
When I invited Dylan Scholinski to exhibit his work at the Gay Arts Center in 2007, it would be Milwaukee’s first solo show by a transgender artist. It was also my first one-on-one engagement with a trans person. His personal insights helped me better understand the trans dynamic. But that was a dozen years ago when, beyond the confines of the LGBTQ community, broader trans awareness was extremely limited. Today, the struggle for trans rights makes national headlines almost daily with news of positive advances usually tempered by stories of institutional discrimination, health disparities and anti-trans violence.
Meanwhile, overheard during the President’s Circle opening was a question asked by an attendee, perhaps rhetorically or simply obliviously, “Why would a man want to become a woman?”
Gender identity is certainly a very personal matter, and while it’s MAM’s prerogative to answer the question or not, this inadvertent opportunity to address a timely social issue is too important to ignore. In a conversation I had with LGBTQ activist, philanthropist and museum donor Joe Pabst, he offered his take on the challenge MAM faces. “We are asked to respect the artist’s privacy, but that request suppresses information. Role models are scarce among minority and marginalized communities. Ms. Nares and MAM can fill the void to lead us to greater understanding and compassion by taking advantage of this teachable moment,” Pabst said. And, indeed, one recurring theme within the Nares’ retrospective is fluidity; her intuitive sense of that is further enhanced by a fixation on the circular form. This universal applies to gender as well. After all, art is life—in all its manifestations.
I understand MAM plans an outreach effort to local LGBTQ entities. Those would hopefully include FORGE and UW-Milwaukee’s Cary Costello, director of its LGBTQ studies program; he is also transgender. Both resources, among others, should be able to sensitively direct and develop an appropriate dialogue around Nares, her art and her gender identity.
