I Feel Love

Claude Simard

Rainbow Stack

1995

painted wood
66 inches x 30 inches x 30 inches

(b. 1956, d. 2014 — Larouche, Quebec, Canada) Claude Simard is best known for creating installation art that often addresses issues of identity. His sculptures are filled with distilled irony and allude to both his personal life and public work. He says, “I like that concept of private and public, covered and uncovered.” Rainbow Stack is reminiscent of many Donald Judd sculptures; however, Simard purposefully doesn’t have the elements of the sculpture continue to the ground. The sculpture’s incompleteness is perhaps a comment on society’s perception of gay and lesbian lifestyles. The colors are those associated with the Rainbow Alliance, an organization for members of the LGBTQ+ community working towards equal rights. Much of his recent work relates to his childhood spent in a small town in rural Quebec, Canada. Simard is a graduate of Ottawa University and attended the Whitney Museum’s Independent Study Program.

Cal Lane

Shovel

2005

plasma cut steel
57 inches x 8 inches

(b. 1968 — Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) Cal Lane painstakingly flame-cuts doily patterns into a shovel and the entire surface of a wheelbarrow, removing their use and replacing function with decoration. “I like the contrast in materials,” she says. “And I like that lace can be so many different things. It’s used at weddings, funerals, on your grandmother’s tabletop, or in sexy lingerie. It hides and exposes at the same time.” Lane wields an industrial plasma cutter as if it were a crochet hook, burning dainty, intricate designs into heavy metal, and elegantly perforating traditionally masculine realms of art and architecture with feminine craft. The artist’s somewhat irreverent approach to art involves physically dismantling objects while reconstituting the materials to generate new forms and new expressions. In a broader sense, textile materials, personal and cultural narratives, politics, and nature combine to loosen the bonds of convention and traditional systems of order. “I examine social and cultural ideas by working with visual codes. I appreciate how three-dimensional form involves the space we are in, how it becomes a part of the world, without an obvious function.”

Laura Ball

Untitled (Masks)

2007

watercolor on paper
15 inches x 11 inches

(b. 1972 — Los Angeles, California, U.S.) Laura Ball’s narrative watercolors and oil paintings depict journeys, trials, and transformations that resemble contemporary fairy tales. Modern-day struggles of the subconscious unfold into playful conflict among surreal and dreamlike landscapes. The myth of the hero, or heroine, is a universal one. Ball’s work addresses this through the depiction of the heroine’s “call to adventure,” and the inevitable struggle and eventual transformation that follow this calling. Using Joseph Campbell’s “A Hero with a Thousand Faces” as a roadmap for the obstacles her heroines confront, Ball uses vibrant colors and exotic animals to create a fantastical world where one must undertake a journey. Themes of gender politics, the environment, and violence emerge from within her fantastical narratives, which are fraught with peril in order to gain a great prize or personal truth.

Laura Ball

Untitled (Zebra)

2007

watercolor on paper
15 inches x 11 inches

(b. 1972 — Los Angeles, California, U.S.) Laura Ball’s narrative watercolors and oil paintings depict journeys, trials, and transformations that resemble contemporary fairy tales. Modern-day struggles of the subconscious unfold into playful conflict among surreal and dreamlike landscapes. The myth of the hero, or heroine, is a universal one. Ball’s work addresses this through the depiction of the heroine’s “call to adventure,” and the inevitable struggle and eventual transformation that follow this calling. Using Joseph Campbell’s “A Hero with a Thousand Faces” as a roadmap for the obstacles her heroines confront, Ball uses vibrant colors and exotic animals to help create a fantastical world where one must undertake a journey. Themes of gender politics, the environment, and violence emerge from within her fantastical narratives, which are fraught with peril in order to gain a great prize or personal truth.

Eve Fowler

Untitled (Amy in Sailor’s Hat)

2007

C-print
30 inches x 40 inches

(b. 1964 — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.) Transgender psychology is central to the work of Eve Fowler. In an excerpt from a 2009 interview with Galerie Dennis Cooper, Fowler discusses the complexity of transgender psychology and how it influences her photographs, “It gets pretty complicated: when you’re biologically a man and you say you’re a lesbian—it’s a little hard to get women to be okay with that, since most lesbians want to be with other women. It’s a tough spot. Similarly, I met a group of young women who like to be called boys. They consider themselves transgender whether they’re on hormones, have had surgery, or not. The word has more to do with a state of mind than an exact physical state. I know a lot of older butch dykes that don’t mind being called women, but the younger set who consider themselves transgender, whether they’re transitioning or not, like being called boys. You see something in some of these people, and it’s obvious that their sexuality is difficult to pinpoint. It puts them in the margins, depending on who they’re around. That was a relief for me, because I often feel like it’s something that goes on internally for me. I feel alien around certain types of women, particularly the ultra-feminine type. So to see that revealed on the outside, and see how someone can navigate the world in a different way, is a relief.”

Eve Fowler

Untitled (Sam Miller in Vest with Hat)

2007

C-print
40 inches x 30 inches

(b. 1964 — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.) Transgender psychology is central to the work of Eve Fowler. In an excerpt from a 2009 interview with Galerie Dennis Cooper, Fowler discusses the complexity of transgender psychology and how it influences her photographs, “It gets pretty complicated: when you’re biologically a man and you say you’re a lesbian—it’s a little hard to get women to be okay with that, since most lesbians want to be with other women. It’s a tough spot. Similarly, I met a group of young women who like to be called boys. They consider themselves transgender whether they’re on hormones, have had surgery, or not. The word has more to do with a state of mind than an exact physical state. I know a lot of older butch dykes that don’t mind being called women, but the younger set who consider themselves transgender, whether they’re transitioning or not, like being called boys. You see something in some of these people, and it’s obvious that their sexuality is difficult to pinpoint. It puts them in the margins, depending on who they’re around. That was a relief for me, because I often feel like it’s something that goes on internally for me. I feel alien around certain types of women, particularly the ultra-feminine type. So to see that revealed on the outside, and see how someone can navigate the world in a different way, is a relief.”

Alix Smith

States of Union #3

2009

C-print
50 inches x 40 inches

(b. 1978 — New York City, New York, U.S.) For Alix Smith, States of Union is a continuation of her exploration of identity. As she came to terms with her sexual orientation, Smith found herself searching for positive role models within the gay community. Media attention on events like pride parades made her wonder why there weren’t more representations of gay couples living familiar day-to-day lives. While portraiture has been used for centuries to memorialize family lineage, these visual depictions have focused almost entirely on the heterosexual family unit. Gay families, with almost no history of depiction, do not have this same pronounced and illustrated legacy.

Smith conceived of a project that would not only provide the role models she so craved but would also contribute to the current cultural debate around homosexual unions by finding monogamous and stable exemplars. She sought out long-term couples and, using visual tropes borrowed from references like the Saturday Evening Post and old master portraiture, injected her images with clues emblematic of security, monogamy, and convention.

Alix Smith

States of Union #8

2009

C-print
40 inches x 50 inches

(b. 1978 — New York City, New York, U.S.) For Alix Smith, States of Union is a continuation of her exploration of identity. As she came to terms with her sexual orientation, Smith found herself searching for positive role models within the gay community. Media attention on events like pride parades made her wonder why there weren’t more representations of gay couples living familiar day-to-day lives. While portraiture has been used for centuries to memorialize family lineage, these visual depictions have focused almost entirely on the heterosexual family unit. Gay families, with almost no history of depiction, do not have this same pronounced and illustrated legacy.

Smith conceived of a project that would not only provide the role models she so craved but would also contribute to the current cultural debate around homosexual unions by finding monogamous and stable exemplars. She sought out long-term couples and, using visual tropes borrowed from references like the Saturday Evening Post and old master portraiture, injected her images with clues emblematic of security, monogamy, and convention.

Coke Wisdom O’Neal

Stephen and Douglas

2010

C-print
37.5 inches x 29 inches

(b. 1971 — New York City, New York, U.S.) The foundation of Progressive’s customer care philosophy is built upon respect. Photographer Coke Wisdom O’Neal explored the theme of respect by employing his characteristic wooden box—a metaphoric stage on which to celebrate each person’s unique individuality. Since true respect is earned, the individuals featured in this series for the 2010 Annual Report were selected for their commitment to their communities, their families, and themselves. The box eliminates any visual distraction except the featured individual and encourages the viewer to connect with each unique personality.