Inside out/outside in: (sexual diversity : a comparative case study of two post-secondary visual art students)
Creators: name: Honeychurch, Kenn Gardner
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2009

description: While a number of recent studies have addressed the overall educational experiences of larger groups of gay and/or lesbian students within institutions of higher learning, there are no in-depth studies which address the experiences of a small number of gay men and/or lesbians who are students in programs of visual art. This comparative case study of two gay male students of visual art considers three primary questions: what are the ways in which individual subjectivities and cultural practices of white, gay, male artists inter-relate; what is the impact of each artist's cultural productions on the broader culture in which they are located; and, what are the experiences of each subject within the postsecondary visual art's program in which each was enrolled. Data was collected through formal interviews, participant-observation, and an examination of the art practices of each subject. This study draws on the contributions, and the inter-relationships, of feminist, postmodernist, and queer theory literatures. In response to the first primary question, this study identifies: a range of denominators by which the subjects name themselves; four categories by which affiliated communities might be identified; a strong positive relationship between individual subjectivities and the practices of art. Second, this study concludes that: public response to the art practices of dissident subjects may vary in terms of mediums and methods; the relationship between language and visual art is variant between the two artists but the embeddedness of language in visual art is recognized; the subjects hold opposing views with respect to the role of the art object within culture, but, in both cases, the art object is seen as being integral, positively or negatively, to individual identities; art is a means to cultural knowledge, that is, visual art may serve as a means of articulating various queered theoretical standpoints; and finally, that the possibilities of camp are a means by which queer identities may be articulated and constituted in visual art practices. In response to the third primary research question, this study concludes that: there is either a lack of gay or queer content matter and expertise, or a strong negative reaction against queer experience in the programs of visual art presently considered; and finally, that the university is a site of cultural practice which continues to be a major legitimizer of social authority. In general terms, with respect to epistemologies, research methodologies, and texts, a number of necessary adaptations emerge which reflect the unique experiences of queer researchers engaged in the production of social knowledges with queer subjects. The research findings suggest that the incorporation of the needs of queer students into the Academy and the Arts would prove valuable, not only to students who so define themselves, but, because different perspectives reflect different and expanded knowledges, would contribute to the learning/living experiences of all post-secondary students of visual art. Recommendations for further research include continuing inquiry which similarly considers the experiences of lesbians in visual arts programs, and for larger scale studies with gay and/or lesbian students which may provide alternate kinds of data.