Wednesday, March 08, 2023

Russell Tovey Pays Tribute to 'Queer' Artist David Robilliard, His 'Queer' Hero


I'm still not exactly sure what a "queer" artist is, let alone a queer hero. (Is a "queer couple" when two queers get together?) But I too am a fan of the very gay British poet and artist David Robilliard (1952–1988) -- I became intrigued by his unabashedly homosexual work decades ago after getting my hands on the catalogue for his 1987 exhibition called "A Roomful of Hungry Looks" at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam -- so I applaud Russell Tovey for digging in deep with a new documentary about the late artist.




To give you an idea of what a riot he must have been, after being diagnosed HIV positive in 1988, the artist started introducing himself as "David Robilliaids"(!) 


As for the mission statementit’s obviously fine to self-identify as queer. But I wonder what this out and proud man would think about being rechristened as such by WePresent et al. Kinda reminds me of the Mormon church’s baptism for the dead.

At any rate, I am eager to see what else Tovey has uncovered. In the meantime, you can see more of Robilliard's work BELOW
















“Life Is Excellent” is the first in a series of three LGBT-inclusive projects set for release this year that will be guest-curated by Tovey on behalf of WePresent, the arts platform of WeTransfer. 

2 comments:

Jaradon said...

The sexy Mr Tovey can celebrate whomever he wants but I do wish he would do shirtless

Nash said...

Loved David.
Cannot wait