USC features erotic LGBT exhibit by 'queer and disabled photographer'
The University of Southern California has opened an art show entitled 'No Content Warning' by 'queer and disabled photographer,' Robert Andy Coombs.
'These nine works, selected from his CripFag series, invite the viewer into Coombs’s world: a world where disability and sex are not at odds,' USC’s website states.
The University of Southern California has opened an art show entitled “No Content Warning” by “queer and disabled photographer,” Robert Andy Coombs, according to the university’s website.
The opening reception for Coombs’ show was on June 14 and is scheduled to last until Sept. 14. The exhibit was introduced by the archives curator, Alexis Bard Johnson, and art historian Cyle Metzger.
“The nine erotic and sultry photographs on view unapologetically present the vision of artist and often subject, Robert Andy Coombs,” an advertisement for the art show explains.
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The works are taken from what is called Coombs’ “CripFag” series.
“Coombs’s photography explores the intersections of disability and sexuality,” USC’s website explains. “Themes of relationships, caregiving, fetish, and sex are depicted and explored throughout.”
“These nine works, selected from his CripFag series, invite the viewer into Coombs’s world: a world where disability and sex are not at odds,” USC’s website continues. “The photographs, luxuriously printed on metallic paper at a large scale, simultaneously convey compassion for the subjects while they demand the viewer’s attention.”
“Many works chosen for this exhibition were censored from other institutions,” the website states.
Coombs’ exhibit is not the only one at USC to feature LGBT art. The ONE Archives at USC’s Libraries claim to be the “largest repository of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) materials in the world.”
“Founded in 1952, ONE Archives houses millions of archival items including periodicals, books, films, videos, audio recordings, photographs, artworks, organizational records, and personal papers,” the ONE Archives’ page on USC’s website explains. “ONE Archives has been a part of the University of Southern California Libraries since 2010.”
An organization connected to the ONE Archives at USC, the One Institute, has promoted LGBT issues much more widely than just art projects like that of Coombs.
“Our one-of-a-kind exhibitions and public programs connect LGBTQ+ history and contemporary culture to effect social change,” the One Institute—formerly called the ONE Archives Foundation—explains on its website. “As the independent community partner of ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, we promote the largest collection of LGBTQ+ materials in the world.”
“Out of our commitment to social equity and justice, we tell the stories of the LGBTQ community and its history,” the website states.
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Southern California, the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries, and Cyle Metzger for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
