Week 7 - Mariconography

 I chose to write on this piece considering that everyone was writing on graffiti, which holds just as enough importance as my topic, but in its own respect. However, they are both similar in that the subvert conventional norms of what we supposedly consider art. Art, to me, transcends visual simulation and is more about saying something, or making a point. To graffiti is to challenge conventional art which is often expected to be formal and in a gallery. Graffiti can be plastered almost anywhere and is revolutionary in that not only can the work be subversive and controversial, but so is the medium and application itself. Nonetheless, I should add that this subversion is not as dangerous as it is to be openly gay, to create art with queer undertones, or to challenge heteronormativity through ones sole existence. In the lithograph 41 Maricones , the artist seeks to portray Mexico City's "homosexual underground" as a sight to mock. He draws effeminate figures with masculine traits as a means of ridiculing their identities and detestable even. There is a common misconception within the Chicanx/Latinx communities (or just people in general) that suggest that to be a Gay man is to be feminine, or that one must be masculine in order to be a man, which is obviously false. In my personal experience, I have met many feminine men and male friends who were very much heterosexual, but I have also met plenty of masculine men and male friends who were gay themselves. In Fig. 21.1, Joey Terrill stands with a "hard and foreboding" face in complete juxtaposition to earlier depictions of effeminate gay men.  He does this while also wearing a shirt that announces that he is indeed a maricon. He takes ownership of the once offensive term, and makes it one he can wear proudly and redefine. This reminds me of a rap group I like that wore bulletproof vests to their Coachella performances with slurs they wanted to take ownership of, or challenge. One of the openly gay members wore a vest that read F***OT, and another wore one with the N-word plastered on it. While other members did the same as well, these two were the ones that made the biggest impact on me. I admire mariconography because it doesn't care what our particular heteronormative and patriarchal society thinks, it subverts the norm and allows for these artists to express themselves with no self-imposed boundaries in sight. That is art.