WEBVTT

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Hi, everyone.

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Welcome to the Billy Welder Theater.

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I'm Claudia Bestor.

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I am the director of public programs

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here at the Hammer Museum.

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I want to welcome you all to

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tonight's program celebrating the

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launch of the new book,

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Trans Hirstory in 99

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Objects.

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Doubles as a workout

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item.

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The book explores trans art,

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trans activism, trans artifacts,

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and trans resistance from

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over four centuries as part

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of a long term project.

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Artist Chris E. Vargas is Museum

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of Trans Hirstory and Art,

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or MOTHA, a conceptual

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art project that's "forever under

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construction." This gorgeous

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new book charts a gender neutral,

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trans centric herstory of art.

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And for tonight's program, Vargas is

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joined by book contributors,

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editors, and artists Zackary

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Drucker, David Evans Frantz,

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Edgar Fabian Frias,

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Raquel Gutierrez, Christina

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Linden, Amos Mac, and Uri

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McMillan to celebrate,

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discuss and perform trans and

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non-binary magic, celebrity

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and activism, and trans mask

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herstory.

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After the program, we invite you all

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to join us in the theater lobby

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for coffee, tea, and cookies, and

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we'll have copies of the book

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available for sale, and you can meet

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all of our wonderful guests in

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person.

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And now it's my privilege to

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introduce our first presentation by

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the one and only Chris E.

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Vargas.

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Word.

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Vargas is a video maker

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and interdisciplinary artist, and

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the founder of the Museum of

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Trans Hirstory and Art.

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His work explores the complex ways

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that queer and trans people

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negotiate spaces for themselves

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within historical and institutional

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memory of popular culture.

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So, without further ado, please join

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me in giving a warm hammer.

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Welcome to Chris E Vargas.

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Hello?

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Hello.

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You two in the front get an A+.

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Hi, everyone.

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Thank you so much for coming.

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It means a lot to me that you're

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here. Each and every one

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of you.

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I'm about to give you the official

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welcome and intro to this project

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and book, and thanks for being here

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to celebrate its launch in LA with

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me.

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That's me.

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This is the project.

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Hi again.

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Chris E Vargas, an artist,

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founder, self-appointed executive

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director of the Museum of Trans

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Hirstory and Art, or

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MOTHA an institution

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dedicated to highlighting the

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significance of trans art and

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herstory to the current cultural

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and political landscape.

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That's right.

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Not a patriarchal history,

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nor just a feminist herstory,

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but a gender neutral, trans centric

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art and activist herstory.

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Oh, thanks.

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I thought

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that was clever, too.

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I founded MOTHA a decade ago,

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way back in June 2013,

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a year before Time magazine featured

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Laverne Cox on its cover and

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heralded the transgender tipping

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point.

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And two years before, reality

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television and cable networks

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brought forth the.

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Dunt. Dunt.

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Transgender tipping point.

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That is to say, that motha surfed

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served the early swell

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of our most recent wave of media

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fascination with all things trans.

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Thanks.

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In the early days, MOTHA was an

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attempt to critically examine the

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heightened moment of visibility when

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trans art and culture found

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an entry for the first time into

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many institutions that historically

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had been closed off to us.

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There was what little.

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There was widespread misconception

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that trans people's lives would

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become universally better as a

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result of cultural attention and

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visibility.

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And I'm certainly not the first to

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point out that this isn't the

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case.

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This is clip art.

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In case

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in case you need a quote, you can

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literally Google a quote and,

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get a fun background.

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Okay.

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More visibility brings more

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vulnerability to many, especially

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those of us whose lives are already

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precarious, those with less access

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to life sustaining resources like

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jobs, housing, health care,

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education.

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In the past few years, trans

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children have also been rendered

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more vulnerable vulnerable by

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a moral panic targeting them with

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bills that restrict access

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to bathrooms, sports, educational

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resources and gender affirming

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medical care.

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That is all to say that for many of

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us, the visibility is not only a

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trap, it is also a slap

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in the face.

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MOTHA was founded to investigate the

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drawbacks of hyper visibility while

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honoring trans people who have

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persevered and the many faces of

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adversity.

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Yes, of course, our history contains

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stories of resilience, but

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it also contains countless

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inflections of resistance,

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creativity, beauty, drama,

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scandal, the full human experience.

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I started MOTHA, because

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understanding myself and my

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experience in a historical context

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made me feel connected to something

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bigger.

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But I also wanted to examine what

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happens when marginalized histories

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get absorbed into mainstream

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institutions and exhibited

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on larger platforms.

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History is never stable.

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We always have a stake in it, and

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it's always dependent on the tellers

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subjectivity and political aims

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in the present.

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So how do we investigate and imagine

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the history of trans people in the

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language and identity categories we

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use, or that are applied to us

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are constantly shifting?

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The separation of sexuality and

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gender, for instance, is relatively

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new. And while the term transgender

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is not that old, it means something

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different today than it did a couple

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decades ago.

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And language and identity categories

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will continue to shift and involve.

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Considering so much flux, where do

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we look for our histories?

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Under what labels have they been

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filed away and where?

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And ethically? What responsibility

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do we have when we apply our

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contemporary terms and

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understandings of trans and

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non-binary identity

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to people and experiences

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in the past, who had different

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frameworks to understand their

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own genders and wouldn't recognize

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theirs, their themselves

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within our frameworks today.

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These questions apply not only when

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we look across time, but also

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geography and culture as

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a critical project, as a way to

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explore and engage playfully

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with these issues and questions,

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while also acknowledging and

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honoring and expansively defined

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trans and non-binary history.

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So A Brief History of MOTHA.

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MOTHA began with this broadside

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poster in 2012.

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I asked my social media networks

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at that time, what was it?

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Friendster? No.

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To name their gender heroes.

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Here.

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Just to tell you what's on the page

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and transistors, the artists

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and activists and even fictional

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characters who made an impact or

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impression on them. Personally,

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I did so with an awareness that not

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everyone would call themselves

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trans, and I also disregarded

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the false binary of positive and

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negative images, recognizing

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that if I were to omit all negative

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representations, I'd have no one to

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show before the year 2012.

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Thanks.

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In parentheses, there's a joke in

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case you don't laugh.

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Thank you.

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Over the course of the year.

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Assembling this broadside, I started

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to think about what MOTHA could and

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should look like.

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And if it's even possible to create

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a museum around an identity category

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that is slippery and unstable,

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and I asked myself questions like,

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who might be included?

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And what would a trans art and

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history canon look like?

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Could I make that canon inclusive,

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which actually goes against the

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exclusive process of canonization?

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And what is the function of the

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museum, anyhow?

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Who decides what's culturally

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important and what's worth

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preserving and exhibiting?

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What about the history of collecting

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and its relationship to colonialism?

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These questions only seem to lead

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me to more questions.

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So I walked into that metaphorical

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burning building and just

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made a museum.

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This one, in fact.

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MOTHA was officially brought into

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this world in 2013

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by a modest but symbolic

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ribbon cutting ceremony at the Yerba

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Buena Center for the Arts in San

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Francisco.

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Symbolic, because even a decade

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later, I have yet to secure a plot

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of land on which to break ground

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for this exciting and fairly young

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institution.

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And did I forget to mention.

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But Claudia already blew my joke.

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MOTHA is now and forever under

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construction.

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Thanks, Claudia.

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The lack of a brick and mortar

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institution has allowed the museum

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to be fluid and take many forms.

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For example, in my role as executive

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director, I've given talks to packed

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houses, including this one

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around the country, about potential

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design ideas for MOTHA's

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physical space.

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00:10:21.790 --> 00:10:23.769
For example, this is the design

292
00:10:23.770 --> 00:10:25.119
for the bathrooms, of course.

293
00:10:27.730 --> 00:10:29.259
Until recently, museums were not

294
00:10:29.260 --> 00:10:30.789
falling over themselves to extend

295
00:10:30.790 --> 00:10:32.529
resources to trans artists.

296
00:10:32.530 --> 00:10:33.999
So a goal of the project was always

297
00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:35.409
to leverage the possibilities

298
00:10:35.410 --> 00:10:37.269
afforded to MOTHA and myself

299
00:10:37.270 --> 00:10:38.919
by brick and mortar institutions to

300
00:10:38.920 --> 00:10:40.269
promote the work of other trans

301
00:10:40.270 --> 00:10:41.439
artists.

302
00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:43.329
I created the first and thus

303
00:10:43.330 --> 00:10:45.429
far only annual MOTHA

304
00:10:45.430 --> 00:10:47.080
Art Award in 2013,

305
00:10:48.220 --> 00:10:49.869
which drummed up a good deal of

306
00:10:49.870 --> 00:10:51.099
attention about recent trans

307
00:10:51.100 --> 00:10:52.869
achievement and was also the target

308
00:10:52.870 --> 00:10:54.819
of much criticism

309
00:10:54.820 --> 00:10:56.289
from people not content with the

310
00:10:56.290 --> 00:10:58.089
status of their own art career.

311
00:10:58.090 --> 00:10:59.090
I might sell.

312
00:11:01.630 --> 00:11:03.039
Just kidding. It was legitimate

313
00:11:03.040 --> 00:11:04.040
critique, but

314
00:11:05.380 --> 00:11:06.380
I won't get into it.

315
00:11:08.290 --> 00:11:10.149
MOTHA also developed two virtual

316
00:11:10.150 --> 00:11:12.009
residences, one with

317
00:11:12.010 --> 00:11:13.809
Tuesday Smiley and another with

318
00:11:13.810 --> 00:11:15.669
Jamie Diaz, both of

319
00:11:15.670 --> 00:11:17.319
whom appear in the book that we're

320
00:11:17.320 --> 00:11:18.759
here to celebrate. Trans history and

321
00:11:18.760 --> 00:11:20.349
99 objects.

322
00:11:20.350 --> 00:11:22.179
In 2014, smiley approached

323
00:11:22.180 --> 00:11:23.769
me with the desire to create a line

324
00:11:23.770 --> 00:11:24.770
on her CV

325
00:11:25.960 --> 00:11:27.519
indicating she had attended an

326
00:11:27.520 --> 00:11:28.600
artist residency.

327
00:11:30.010 --> 00:11:31.629
One marker of career success that

328
00:11:31.630 --> 00:11:33.579
galleries and collectors look for to

329
00:11:33.580 --> 00:11:35.529
confirm legitimacy.

330
00:11:35.530 --> 00:11:37.509
And so we made a

331
00:11:37.510 --> 00:11:39.429
graphic in a press release

332
00:11:39.430 --> 00:11:41.319
and created a residency.

333
00:11:41.320 --> 00:11:42.320
Simple as that.

334
00:11:43.630 --> 00:11:45.189
In 2012, I was approached by a

335
00:11:45.190 --> 00:11:46.629
friend of the incarcerated artist

336
00:11:46.630 --> 00:11:48.039
Jamie Diaz, about creating a

337
00:11:48.040 --> 00:11:50.019
residency for her and also

338
00:11:50.020 --> 00:11:52.089
an official looking letter on MOTHA

339
00:11:52.090 --> 00:11:53.409
letterhead. Of course, I have

340
00:11:53.410 --> 00:11:55.479
letterhead and a certificate

341
00:11:55.480 --> 00:11:57.759
I think was used

342
00:11:57.760 --> 00:11:59.799
in Diaz's, parole

343
00:11:59.800 --> 00:12:01.719
appeal because she

344
00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:04.239
was granted parole,

345
00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:06.069
in 2024 for 2024

346
00:12:06.070 --> 00:12:07.809
after 30 years of incarceration.

347
00:12:09.970 --> 00:12:11.709
I don't know if MOTHA has anything

348
00:12:11.710 --> 00:12:12.969
to do with that, but I'll certainly

349
00:12:12.970 --> 00:12:13.970
take credit.

350
00:12:15.220 --> 00:12:17.169
So, along with wedging my

351
00:12:17.170 --> 00:12:18.489
foot in the door of institutional

352
00:12:18.490 --> 00:12:20.379
spaces and shooing in as many other

353
00:12:20.380 --> 00:12:22.179
trans and queer artists as I can get

354
00:12:22.180 --> 00:12:23.289
away with.

355
00:12:23.290 --> 00:12:25.419
MOTHA was also always

356
00:12:25.420 --> 00:12:27.369
been a project of institutional

357
00:12:27.370 --> 00:12:28.370
critique.

358
00:12:28.870 --> 00:12:30.459
Through it, I have playfully and

359
00:12:30.460 --> 00:12:32.139
critically interrogated.

360
00:12:32.140 --> 00:12:33.789
Excuse me, I saw there's water right

361
00:12:33.790 --> 00:12:34.790
here.

362
00:12:38.020 --> 00:12:39.020
With the project.

363
00:12:41.470 --> 00:12:43.029
I have playfully and critically

364
00:12:43.030 --> 00:12:44.859
interrogated the function of power

365
00:12:44.860 --> 00:12:47.439
and power of archives and museums,

366
00:12:47.440 --> 00:12:49.119
and I've also tried to expropriate

367
00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:50.649
and redistribute that power.

368
00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:53.960
Thus.

369
00:12:55.510 --> 00:12:56.709
That was too early.

370
00:12:56.710 --> 00:12:57.759
So.

371
00:12:57.760 --> 00:12:58.760
Whoops.

372
00:13:02.460 --> 00:13:04.289
Let's go back to

373
00:13:04.290 --> 00:13:06.809
MOTHA claims museum status

374
00:13:06.810 --> 00:13:08.699
because museums carry

375
00:13:08.700 --> 00:13:10.499
cultural weight and establish public

376
00:13:10.500 --> 00:13:11.500
trust.

377
00:13:12.540 --> 00:13:13.859
Throughout the project, I've managed

378
00:13:13.860 --> 00:13:15.419
to fool people when they first

379
00:13:15.420 --> 00:13:17.129
encounter it, not just for the sake

380
00:13:17.130 --> 00:13:18.959
of fooling them, because, you

381
00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:20.580
know, trans people are sneaky

382
00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:24.029
joke. I can only do it in a room

383
00:13:24.030 --> 00:13:26.039
like this, but as a way to lure

384
00:13:26.040 --> 00:13:28.499
them into a critical stance.

385
00:13:28.500 --> 00:13:30.419
So to give some examples,

386
00:13:30.420 --> 00:13:32.069
in my presentations as Executive

387
00:13:32.070 --> 00:13:33.749
director, I've I've proposed not

388
00:13:33.750 --> 00:13:35.249
only plans for my office new

389
00:13:35.250 --> 00:13:37.859
building, but also a lucrative

390
00:13:37.860 --> 00:13:39.869
commercial tie in,

391
00:13:39.870 --> 00:13:41.460
including themed restaurants.

392
00:13:44.550 --> 00:13:45.550
You get the idea.

393
00:13:46.560 --> 00:13:47.549
And at the other end of the

394
00:13:47.550 --> 00:13:48.989
spectrum, when I was invited to

395
00:13:48.990 --> 00:13:51.119
contribute to SF, MoMA's

396
00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:53.099
Open Space online platform,

397
00:13:53.100 --> 00:13:54.869
I presented a press release a lot of

398
00:13:54.870 --> 00:13:56.189
early projects of my work.

399
00:13:56.190 --> 00:13:59.009
Press release adjacent,

400
00:13:59.010 --> 00:14:01.019
I presented a press release stating

401
00:14:01.020 --> 00:14:02.909
that SFMoMA agreed to

402
00:14:02.910 --> 00:14:04.739
repatriate a number of significant

403
00:14:04.740 --> 00:14:06.419
trans relevant artworks from its

404
00:14:06.420 --> 00:14:08.039
permanent collection to MOTHA, where

405
00:14:08.040 --> 00:14:09.149
they rightfully belong.

406
00:14:12.180 --> 00:14:14.129
But okay, but even

407
00:14:14.130 --> 00:14:15.419
with this element of critique, I

408
00:14:15.420 --> 00:14:16.889
have often been surprised and

409
00:14:16.890 --> 00:14:18.959
dismayed by the capacity museums

410
00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:21.659
have to absorb and diffuse critique.

411
00:14:21.660 --> 00:14:23.249
There are many amazing and visionary

412
00:14:23.250 --> 00:14:24.869
curators who invite artists and

413
00:14:24.870 --> 00:14:26.489
projects into museums to take

414
00:14:26.490 --> 00:14:28.799
interventions and make interventions

415
00:14:28.800 --> 00:14:30.209
about institutional power

416
00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:34.079
in the hopes of initiating dialog.

417
00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:35.939
But the cultural changes museums and

418
00:14:35.940 --> 00:14:37.679
arts institutions must make in order

419
00:14:37.680 --> 00:14:40.139
to have a real impact on the future,

420
00:14:40.140 --> 00:14:42.629
such as, to name a few.

421
00:14:42.630 --> 00:14:44.549
The repatriation and

422
00:14:44.550 --> 00:14:47.639
reparations of colonial plunder,

423
00:14:47.640 --> 00:14:49.529
divestment from the fossil fuel

424
00:14:49.530 --> 00:14:51.479
and pharmaceutical industries,

425
00:14:51.480 --> 00:14:53.879
taking important stances

426
00:14:53.880 --> 00:14:56.759
against occupation and genocide,

427
00:14:56.760 --> 00:14:58.619
and taking an uncompromising look

428
00:14:58.620 --> 00:14:59.729
at the white supremacist,

429
00:14:59.730 --> 00:15:01.589
patriarchal and transphobic roots of

430
00:15:01.590 --> 00:15:03.029
Western culture.

431
00:15:03.030 --> 00:15:05.129
These changes don't come fast

432
00:15:05.130 --> 00:15:05.969
enough.

433
00:15:05.970 --> 00:15:07.859
So often, it seems institutional

434
00:15:07.860 --> 00:15:09.629
critique only makes museums more

435
00:15:09.630 --> 00:15:10.630
powerful.

436
00:15:11.280 --> 00:15:12.449
They get to take credit for the

437
00:15:12.450 --> 00:15:14.309
radical ideas presented within their

438
00:15:14.310 --> 00:15:15.959
walls, and meanwhile, power

439
00:15:15.960 --> 00:15:17.429
structures and compensation

440
00:15:17.430 --> 00:15:18.779
disparities remain the same.

441
00:15:20.040 --> 00:15:21.959
Let's face it, any capital

442
00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:23.609
trans artists are likely to receive

443
00:15:23.610 --> 00:15:25.259
from showing their work is non

444
00:15:25.260 --> 00:15:26.189
material.

445
00:15:26.190 --> 00:15:27.689
So if we want to leverage this

446
00:15:27.690 --> 00:15:29.339
exposure into sustainable lives,

447
00:15:29.340 --> 00:15:30.539
we'll have to do it ourselves.

448
00:15:31.810 --> 00:15:32.810
Serious.

449
00:15:37.510 --> 00:15:39.729
Okay, now to the book

450
00:15:39.730 --> 00:15:41.710
transfer Street and 99 objects.

451
00:15:45.520 --> 00:15:46.509
Thank you.

452
00:15:46.510 --> 00:15:48.159
Most of my work as MOTHA has been

453
00:15:48.160 --> 00:15:50.199
focused on trans herstory and 99

454
00:15:50.200 --> 00:15:51.069
objects.

455
00:15:51.070 --> 00:15:52.569
A project that initially took the

456
00:15:52.570 --> 00:15:54.459
form of a series of six gallery

457
00:15:54.460 --> 00:15:56.229
exhibitions and now culminates in

458
00:15:56.230 --> 00:15:58.689
the book we are celebrating today.

459
00:15:58.690 --> 00:16:00.159
This project is a visual and

460
00:16:00.160 --> 00:16:02.079
material exploration, exploration of

461
00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:03.549
various objects that hold

462
00:16:03.550 --> 00:16:05.259
significance in narrating the

463
00:16:05.260 --> 00:16:07.329
history of trans communities.

464
00:16:07.330 --> 00:16:08.709
And rather than try to outdo the

465
00:16:08.710 --> 00:16:10.599
British Museum's 100 A

466
00:16:10.600 --> 00:16:13.449
history of the world in 100 objects,

467
00:16:13.450 --> 00:16:15.789
or the Smithsonian's Very American

468
00:16:15.790 --> 00:16:17.829
Act of One Upsmanship The History

469
00:16:17.830 --> 00:16:19.989
of America and 101 objects.

470
00:16:21.640 --> 00:16:23.319
Both, of course, were influences for

471
00:16:23.320 --> 00:16:24.279
this project.

472
00:16:24.280 --> 00:16:26.649
MOTHA's chosen number of 99

473
00:16:27.910 --> 00:16:29.529
sought to acknowledge in advance the

474
00:16:29.530 --> 00:16:30.939
limitations inherent in this

475
00:16:30.940 --> 00:16:31.940
undertaking.

476
00:16:33.790 --> 00:16:35.619
So the first three exhibitions in

477
00:16:35.620 --> 00:16:36.789
the series were Creative and

478
00:16:36.790 --> 00:16:39.309
Critical explorations of LGBTQ

479
00:16:39.310 --> 00:16:40.989
Archives and collecting in North

480
00:16:40.990 --> 00:16:42.849
America, largely focused

481
00:16:42.850 --> 00:16:43.959
on regional histories.

482
00:16:43.960 --> 00:16:45.549
They took place at the One National

483
00:16:45.550 --> 00:16:47.889
Gay and Lesbian Archives in LA.

484
00:16:47.890 --> 00:16:48.890
Yeah.

485
00:16:51.070 --> 00:16:52.809
The Henry Art Gallery in Seattle.

486
00:16:53.950 --> 00:16:55.479
Oh, yeah.

487
00:16:55.480 --> 00:16:56.480
Just

488
00:16:57.310 --> 00:16:59.799
kidding. At the Legacy Gallery,

489
00:16:59.800 --> 00:17:01.389
drawn from the Transgender Archives

490
00:17:01.390 --> 00:17:02.919
at the University of Victoria in

491
00:17:02.920 --> 00:17:03.920
British Columbia.

492
00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:07.209
And the fourth exhibition took place

493
00:17:07.210 --> 00:17:09.519
at the Portland Art Museum in 2018.

494
00:17:09.520 --> 00:17:11.409
And for it, I moved away from an

495
00:17:11.410 --> 00:17:13.328
exploration of physical archives

496
00:17:13.329 --> 00:17:14.889
and instead focused on a trans

497
00:17:14.890 --> 00:17:17.679
moving or moving image archive

498
00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:19.269
I made over the gallery to resemble

499
00:17:19.270 --> 00:17:21.249
a trans centric video

500
00:17:21.250 --> 00:17:22.250
rental store.

501
00:17:24.010 --> 00:17:25.449
Remember those?

502
00:17:25.450 --> 00:17:26.450
No.

503
00:17:27.250 --> 00:17:29.439
The fifth exhibition

504
00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:31.749
here, MOTHA and

505
00:17:31.750 --> 00:17:33.789
Me consciousness lost consciousness

506
00:17:33.790 --> 00:17:34.819
raising. The Stonewall

507
00:17:34.820 --> 00:17:36.669
Memorialization Project took place

508
00:17:36.670 --> 00:17:39.579
at the New Museum between

509
00:17:39.580 --> 00:17:41.499
the late late 2018

510
00:17:41.500 --> 00:17:43.389
and leading into

511
00:17:43.390 --> 00:17:45.909
2019, which is,

512
00:17:45.910 --> 00:17:47.259
on the way up the lead up to the

513
00:17:47.260 --> 00:17:49.179
50th anniversary of the Stonewall

514
00:17:49.180 --> 00:17:50.180
uprising.

515
00:17:51.520 --> 00:17:52.520
Ooh!

516
00:17:53.560 --> 00:17:54.560
Oh.

517
00:17:56.360 --> 00:17:57.360
I had a cough drop

518
00:17:58.520 --> 00:18:00.259
once, long ago.

519
00:18:03.950 --> 00:18:05.569
So for this one, I.

520
00:18:05.570 --> 00:18:07.459
I invited 12 artists to propose new

521
00:18:07.460 --> 00:18:09.769
memorials to the rebellion

522
00:18:09.770 --> 00:18:11.599
outside and inside of Stonewall

523
00:18:11.600 --> 00:18:14.059
to replace the current sculptures.

524
00:18:15.140 --> 00:18:16.140
Get to that in a moment

525
00:18:17.270 --> 00:18:19.159
that are out there currently in

526
00:18:19.160 --> 00:18:21.229
Christopher Park and

527
00:18:21.230 --> 00:18:23.119
out in front of the Stonewall

528
00:18:23.120 --> 00:18:25.129
Inn. Which are

529
00:18:25.130 --> 00:18:26.689
deficient monuments, to say the

530
00:18:26.690 --> 00:18:27.690
least.

531
00:18:33.260 --> 00:18:35.959
And finally, the six exhibition,

532
00:18:35.960 --> 00:18:37.939
took place in the summer of 2019

533
00:18:37.940 --> 00:18:39.799
at the Oakland Museum of California

534
00:18:39.800 --> 00:18:42.079
in the show Queer California until

535
00:18:42.080 --> 00:18:43.879
told stories and again focused on a

536
00:18:43.880 --> 00:18:46.129
regional history of the

537
00:18:46.130 --> 00:18:47.130
Bay area.

538
00:18:48.020 --> 00:18:50.089
So all the exhibitions

539
00:18:50.090 --> 00:18:51.589
were always building towards this

540
00:18:51.590 --> 00:18:54.499
book. But the book is not a catalog.

541
00:18:54.500 --> 00:18:56.869
It's something entirely different.

542
00:18:56.870 --> 00:18:58.999
It's co-edited with Christina Linden

543
00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:01.069
and David Evans Evans friends,

544
00:19:01.070 --> 00:19:02.809
two curators whom I worked with on

545
00:19:02.810 --> 00:19:05.059
two previous exhibitions, The One

546
00:19:05.060 --> 00:19:07.849
and at Oakland.

547
00:19:07.850 --> 00:19:09.799
And the 99 objects

548
00:19:09.800 --> 00:19:11.329
are each paired with texts by a

549
00:19:11.330 --> 00:19:13.489
range of writers, from scholars

550
00:19:13.490 --> 00:19:15.589
to poets, activists to popular

551
00:19:15.590 --> 00:19:16.590
historians.

552
00:19:17.630 --> 00:19:19.159
The format of the book allows for a

553
00:19:19.160 --> 00:19:21.259
more expansive approach, which, with

554
00:19:21.260 --> 00:19:22.729
alternative methods for including

555
00:19:22.730 --> 00:19:25.249
things lost to history, such as

556
00:19:25.250 --> 00:19:27.289
these objects represented by my own

557
00:19:27.290 --> 00:19:29.299
illustrations.

558
00:19:29.300 --> 00:19:30.649
And you thought I was just a fake

559
00:19:30.650 --> 00:19:31.729
executive director.

560
00:19:34.050 --> 00:19:35.669
And the nine sections of the book

561
00:19:35.670 --> 00:19:37.379
serve to pull out common threads

562
00:19:37.380 --> 00:19:38.789
among the objects, but they are

563
00:19:38.790 --> 00:19:40.919
porous and by no means meant to deny

564
00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:42.779
the potential for objects to inhabit

565
00:19:42.780 --> 00:19:45.719
other sections just as easily.

566
00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:48.059
And 1st May approach the edges

567
00:19:48.060 --> 00:19:49.949
of each section as gender

568
00:19:49.950 --> 00:19:51.329
fluid.

569
00:19:51.330 --> 00:19:52.679
The first section highlights the

570
00:19:52.680 --> 00:19:53.819
refusal.

571
00:19:53.820 --> 00:19:55.649
These dividers also,

572
00:19:55.650 --> 00:19:57.209
I don't know if this is in my notes,

573
00:19:57.210 --> 00:19:58.409
but. Or drawn by Edie.

574
00:19:58.410 --> 00:19:59.219
Fake.

575
00:19:59.220 --> 00:20:00.809
Beautiful, wonderful, amazing

576
00:20:00.810 --> 00:20:01.810
artist.

577
00:20:03.090 --> 00:20:04.349
The first section highlights the

578
00:20:04.350 --> 00:20:06.479
refusal of trans people to accept

579
00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:07.979
the unacceptable.

580
00:20:07.980 --> 00:20:10.079
Transformation is about physical,

581
00:20:10.080 --> 00:20:11.669
psychological, formal,

582
00:20:11.670 --> 00:20:13.769
pharmacological science, fictional

583
00:20:13.770 --> 00:20:15.809
and administrative changes

584
00:20:15.810 --> 00:20:17.279
to our lives and bodies.

585
00:20:18.540 --> 00:20:19.979
And the next section looks at how

586
00:20:19.980 --> 00:20:21.539
some of those transformations, for

587
00:20:21.540 --> 00:20:23.579
better or for worse, become hyper

588
00:20:23.580 --> 00:20:25.409
visible to the public.

589
00:20:25.410 --> 00:20:27.479
And when trans lives become visible,

590
00:20:27.480 --> 00:20:29.459
the inevitable cultural response has

591
00:20:29.460 --> 00:20:30.569
been sensation.

592
00:20:31.950 --> 00:20:33.329
And if we're lucky, we become

593
00:20:33.330 --> 00:20:34.199
deities.

594
00:20:34.200 --> 00:20:35.549
This section speaks to the

595
00:20:35.550 --> 00:20:37.889
spiritual, iconic and transcendent

596
00:20:37.890 --> 00:20:40.829
within and among us.

597
00:20:40.830 --> 00:20:42.719
Discovery examines how we have

598
00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:44.369
been both the subject and

599
00:20:44.370 --> 00:20:46.709
perpetrator of investigated invasive

600
00:20:46.710 --> 00:20:47.710
investigation.

601
00:20:49.050 --> 00:20:51.239
ReStage reveals the impulse

602
00:20:51.240 --> 00:20:53.159
to reclaim various aspects of our

603
00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:55.289
history or reimagine shared

604
00:20:55.290 --> 00:20:56.849
cultural touchstones.

605
00:20:56.850 --> 00:20:59.789
Touchstones, as trans inclusive

606
00:20:59.790 --> 00:21:01.649
traces speaks to the clippings and

607
00:21:01.650 --> 00:21:03.179
fragments of trans lives and

608
00:21:03.180 --> 00:21:05.069
culture, and the impulse to combat

609
00:21:05.070 --> 00:21:07.079
one's own erasure.

610
00:21:07.080 --> 00:21:08.699
And lastly, spaces is about the

611
00:21:08.700 --> 00:21:10.439
places we create and defiantly

612
00:21:10.440 --> 00:21:11.549
demand for ourselves.

613
00:21:13.260 --> 00:21:15.449
So, as I stated earlier,

614
00:21:15.450 --> 00:21:17.249
the number 99 is inherently

615
00:21:17.250 --> 00:21:18.179
incomplete.

616
00:21:18.180 --> 00:21:20.009
Our history is still being written

617
00:21:20.010 --> 00:21:21.929
and will continue to be every

618
00:21:21.930 --> 00:21:24.179
trans generation moving forward.

619
00:21:24.180 --> 00:21:26.249
History is dynamic and alive,

620
00:21:26.250 --> 00:21:28.289
and it absolutely should be.

621
00:21:28.290 --> 00:21:29.729
This book, like everything else

622
00:21:29.730 --> 00:21:31.499
MOTHA has done, is a playful and

623
00:21:31.500 --> 00:21:33.599
impossible attempt to compile

624
00:21:33.600 --> 00:21:35.519
a cohesive history of trans art and

625
00:21:35.520 --> 00:21:37.559
culture while also acknowledging

626
00:21:37.560 --> 00:21:38.939
its challenges.

627
00:21:38.940 --> 00:21:41.099
Its futile but essential work.

628
00:21:41.100 --> 00:21:42.959
This incompleteness is an opening

629
00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:44.849
and an invitation to you to

630
00:21:44.850 --> 00:21:46.859
somehow, someway contribute

631
00:21:46.860 --> 00:21:48.539
an insert and acknowledge yourself

632
00:21:48.540 --> 00:21:50.159
into that history.

633
00:21:50.160 --> 00:21:51.160
Thank you.

634
00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:07.049
Hi everyone.

635
00:22:07.050 --> 00:22:08.849
Wow, what an amazing audience

636
00:22:08.850 --> 00:22:09.850
tonight.

637
00:22:12.210 --> 00:22:13.289
My name is David Evans.

638
00:22:13.290 --> 00:22:15.179
Franz. I am privileged to be one of

639
00:22:15.180 --> 00:22:17.579
the coeditors of this book.

640
00:22:17.580 --> 00:22:19.469
And just really thrilled to be here.

641
00:22:19.470 --> 00:22:21.269
And we have such an amazing lineup

642
00:22:21.270 --> 00:22:22.679
now. Thank you to Chris for giving

643
00:22:22.680 --> 00:22:23.789
that wonderful introduction to

644
00:22:23.790 --> 00:22:24.790
MOTHA.

645
00:22:25.260 --> 00:22:27.119
I am excited here

646
00:22:27.120 --> 00:22:28.829
to introduce Zachary Drucker, who is

647
00:22:28.830 --> 00:22:30.389
going to be reading an entry from

648
00:22:30.390 --> 00:22:31.889
the book.

649
00:22:31.890 --> 00:22:33.869
She wrote about the trans icon

650
00:22:33.870 --> 00:22:36.539
and celebrity Christine Jorgensen.

651
00:22:36.540 --> 00:22:38.609
So for those of you who do not know

652
00:22:38.610 --> 00:22:40.049
Zachary, his illustrious career and

653
00:22:40.050 --> 00:22:40.949
amazing work.

654
00:22:40.950 --> 00:22:42.569
I'm going to read a bio.

655
00:22:42.570 --> 00:22:44.519
Zachary Drucker is an American

656
00:22:44.520 --> 00:22:46.379
multimedia artist, director,

657
00:22:46.380 --> 00:22:48.419
and producer who has dedicated

658
00:22:48.420 --> 00:22:49.949
her work to telling stories that

659
00:22:49.950 --> 00:22:51.809
expand our cultural understanding of

660
00:22:51.810 --> 00:22:52.889
difference.

661
00:22:52.890 --> 00:22:54.419
Her credits include directing the

662
00:22:54.420 --> 00:22:56.039
Hulu original documentary Queen

663
00:22:56.040 --> 00:22:58.469
Maker The Making of a girl,

664
00:22:58.470 --> 00:23:00.569
and co-directing the Sundance award

665
00:23:00.570 --> 00:23:02.459
winning HBO original documentary

666
00:23:02.460 --> 00:23:04.289
film The Struggle

667
00:23:04.290 --> 00:23:06.449
and the HBO documentary series

668
00:23:06.450 --> 00:23:07.559
The Lady and the Dale.

669
00:23:08.610 --> 00:23:10.049
She has performed and exhibited her

670
00:23:10.050 --> 00:23:11.939
work internationally in museums,

671
00:23:11.940 --> 00:23:14.159
galleries and film festivals,

672
00:23:14.160 --> 00:23:16.979
including the Whitney Biennial 2014,

673
00:23:16.980 --> 00:23:19.079
MoMA PS1, The Hammer

674
00:23:19.080 --> 00:23:20.670
Museum. You Might have Heard of It,

675
00:23:21.990 --> 00:23:23.879
the Art Gallery of Ontario, the

676
00:23:23.880 --> 00:23:25.739
MCA San Diego,

677
00:23:25.740 --> 00:23:27.719
SFMoMA, among numerous

678
00:23:27.720 --> 00:23:29.039
others.

679
00:23:29.040 --> 00:23:31.349
So thank you so much, and please

680
00:23:31.350 --> 00:23:32.699
join me in welcoming Zachary to the

681
00:23:32.700 --> 00:23:33.700
stage.

682
00:23:38.700 --> 00:23:40.649
Oh thank

683
00:23:40.650 --> 00:23:42.059
you baby.

684
00:23:42.060 --> 00:23:44.289
Oh my gosh.

685
00:23:44.290 --> 00:23:45.299
Ha ha ha.

686
00:23:47.700 --> 00:23:48.759
Hey.

687
00:23:50.100 --> 00:23:50.969
Oh my God.

688
00:23:50.970 --> 00:23:52.679
What a gift to be here on my

689
00:23:52.680 --> 00:23:54.629
favorite theater in

690
00:23:54.630 --> 00:23:55.799
America.

691
00:23:57.660 --> 00:23:59.099
With this incredible.

692
00:23:59.100 --> 00:24:00.100
Book.

693
00:24:01.350 --> 00:24:03.359
Congratulations to Chris, David,

694
00:24:03.360 --> 00:24:05.399
and Christina for just

695
00:24:05.400 --> 00:24:08.339
giving us an incredible object

696
00:24:08.340 --> 00:24:10.170
that we will never forget.

697
00:24:11.980 --> 00:24:13.779
I wrote about Christine Jorgensen,

698
00:24:13.780 --> 00:24:15.759
who would not have been my first

699
00:24:15.760 --> 00:24:18.069
choice necessarily,

700
00:24:18.070 --> 00:24:20.199
but I was honored

701
00:24:20.200 --> 00:24:21.200
and.

702
00:24:23.170 --> 00:24:25.089
I because, you know,

703
00:24:25.090 --> 00:24:26.229
she started out.

704
00:24:29.500 --> 00:24:30.969
I'm going to read you the caps on

705
00:24:30.970 --> 00:24:32.949
first so you understand

706
00:24:32.950 --> 00:24:35.169
who this is if you don't know

707
00:24:35.170 --> 00:24:36.369
already.

708
00:24:36.370 --> 00:24:37.539
And then I'm going to read my little

709
00:24:37.540 --> 00:24:38.769
piece.

710
00:24:38.770 --> 00:24:40.239
All right.

711
00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:42.939
On December 1st, 1952,

712
00:24:42.940 --> 00:24:44.859
Christine Jorgensen, who

713
00:24:44.860 --> 00:24:47.439
lived from 1926 to

714
00:24:47.440 --> 00:24:49.269
1989, made

715
00:24:49.270 --> 00:24:51.249
a public splash when she was outed

716
00:24:51.250 --> 00:24:53.409
by the New York Daily News

717
00:24:53.410 --> 00:24:55.419
with the headline

718
00:24:55.420 --> 00:24:57.249
Guy becomes Blond

719
00:24:57.250 --> 00:24:58.899
Beauty.

720
00:24:58.900 --> 00:25:00.729
Jorgensen had been receiving

721
00:25:00.730 --> 00:25:02.619
gender affirming medical treatment

722
00:25:02.620 --> 00:25:04.839
in Denmark when her shocking

723
00:25:04.840 --> 00:25:06.909
sex change story was

724
00:25:06.910 --> 00:25:09.129
taken up by the paper,

725
00:25:09.130 --> 00:25:11.049
a trans media spectacle

726
00:25:11.050 --> 00:25:12.050
ensued.

727
00:25:13.040 --> 00:25:14.899
Unable to live the private life

728
00:25:14.900 --> 00:25:16.219
she had hoped for.

729
00:25:16.220 --> 00:25:18.229
She leveraged this sensational

730
00:25:18.230 --> 00:25:20.389
publicity and launched

731
00:25:20.390 --> 00:25:22.309
a nightclub act

732
00:25:22.310 --> 00:25:24.439
made of many television appearances,

733
00:25:24.440 --> 00:25:25.969
lectured at universities, and

734
00:25:25.970 --> 00:25:28.009
published Christine Jorgensen

735
00:25:28.010 --> 00:25:30.169
A Personal Autobiography

736
00:25:30.170 --> 00:25:32.509
in 1967,

737
00:25:32.510 --> 00:25:34.279
all of which chronicled her own

738
00:25:34.280 --> 00:25:37.369
experience in her own words.

739
00:25:37.370 --> 00:25:39.349
In 1954, she commissioned

740
00:25:39.350 --> 00:25:41.299
this portrait by

741
00:25:41.300 --> 00:25:43.130
Lorraine Merritt,

742
00:25:44.780 --> 00:25:46.609
and

743
00:25:46.610 --> 00:25:47.839
I wrote a letter to her

744
00:25:49.100 --> 00:25:51.949
from, you know, 2024,

745
00:25:51.950 --> 00:25:52.950
let's say.

746
00:25:55.220 --> 00:25:56.599
And it goes like this.

747
00:25:58.550 --> 00:25:59.659
Dear Christine.

748
00:26:01.370 --> 00:26:03.349
My mother was a toddler in

749
00:26:03.350 --> 00:26:04.819
1953.

750
00:26:04.820 --> 00:26:06.889
When you came home from Europe

751
00:26:06.890 --> 00:26:08.569
with a fresh pussy between your

752
00:26:08.570 --> 00:26:09.570
legs.

753
00:26:11.120 --> 00:26:13.759
Not to evangelize you, but

754
00:26:13.760 --> 00:26:15.799
the global clamor that occurred

755
00:26:15.800 --> 00:26:17.689
after you famously stepped off

756
00:26:17.690 --> 00:26:19.669
the plane from Denmark was

757
00:26:19.670 --> 00:26:21.529
catalyzed by that manmade

758
00:26:21.530 --> 00:26:22.530
vagina.

759
00:26:23.690 --> 00:26:25.489
Having learned, you can laugh.

760
00:26:28.820 --> 00:26:31.909
Having learned about your life then,

761
00:26:31.910 --> 00:26:34.279
as I have lived my life today.

762
00:26:34.280 --> 00:26:35.359
It seems to me that you were

763
00:26:35.360 --> 00:26:37.369
genuinely surprised by such

764
00:26:37.370 --> 00:26:39.499
a calamitous reception,

765
00:26:39.500 --> 00:26:41.899
stunned by overnight celebrity,

766
00:26:41.900 --> 00:26:45.049
yet still somehow prepared

767
00:26:45.050 --> 00:26:46.050
and dignified.

768
00:26:47.360 --> 00:26:49.549
Christine, your Grace touched

769
00:26:49.550 --> 00:26:52.309
the world as the first transsexual

770
00:26:52.310 --> 00:26:53.329
superstar.

771
00:26:54.380 --> 00:26:56.569
You were a messenger out of time

772
00:26:56.570 --> 00:26:58.909
with the cleavers and John Wayne,

773
00:26:58.910 --> 00:27:00.859
but every bit in sync with

774
00:27:00.860 --> 00:27:02.420
Marilyn and Grace

775
00:27:03.560 --> 00:27:05.449
with gumption, glamor and

776
00:27:05.450 --> 00:27:06.889
panache.

777
00:27:06.890 --> 00:27:08.719
You established a precedent of

778
00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:10.489
white woman respectability that

779
00:27:10.490 --> 00:27:12.050
transcends time.

780
00:27:21.560 --> 00:27:23.189
Your legacy is indelible.

781
00:27:24.260 --> 00:27:25.260
Eternal.

782
00:27:25.970 --> 00:27:27.829
In 1954, you sat for

783
00:27:27.830 --> 00:27:29.719
a painted portrait, perhaps

784
00:27:29.720 --> 00:27:31.369
to commemorate the height of your

785
00:27:31.370 --> 00:27:33.379
fame, an age old

786
00:27:33.380 --> 00:27:35.389
symbol of social prominence,

787
00:27:35.390 --> 00:27:38.359
forever sealing your status

788
00:27:38.360 --> 00:27:39.400
as somebody.

789
00:27:41.470 --> 00:27:43.629
You posed for photographs

790
00:27:43.630 --> 00:27:45.729
over and over

791
00:27:45.730 --> 00:27:47.559
again in front of this

792
00:27:47.560 --> 00:27:48.560
painting.

793
00:28:01.970 --> 00:28:02.970
Wow.

794
00:28:06.560 --> 00:28:08.149
You posed for photographs over and

795
00:28:08.150 --> 00:28:10.039
over again in front of this painting

796
00:28:10.040 --> 00:28:12.109
as a measure of time, and

797
00:28:12.110 --> 00:28:14.119
like most objects in

798
00:28:14.120 --> 00:28:16.039
outlived your mortal body.

799
00:28:17.300 --> 00:28:19.129
What it must have meant to you

800
00:28:19.130 --> 00:28:21.649
to be created with care

801
00:28:21.650 --> 00:28:24.259
through hours of attentive witness,

802
00:28:24.260 --> 00:28:25.849
to memorialize one's own

803
00:28:25.850 --> 00:28:28.009
significance by the alchemical

804
00:28:28.010 --> 00:28:30.169
process of art making,

805
00:28:30.170 --> 00:28:32.239
is to bestow a part of one's

806
00:28:32.240 --> 00:28:34.099
own soul into

807
00:28:34.100 --> 00:28:36.319
a world inherently alien

808
00:28:36.320 --> 00:28:38.150
to our inner realities.

809
00:28:39.200 --> 00:28:41.239
No one's inner world is ever truly

810
00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:42.799
known by another.

811
00:28:43.990 --> 00:28:46.719
But it seems a most human project

812
00:28:46.720 --> 00:28:49.849
to externalize the unseen.

813
00:28:49.850 --> 00:28:51.819
That though we may be destined

814
00:28:51.820 --> 00:28:53.650
to live alone within.

815
00:28:54.860 --> 00:28:57.529
There is still a home in the body

816
00:28:57.530 --> 00:28:59.629
and the art here.

817
00:28:59.630 --> 00:29:00.630
A window.

818
00:29:02.030 --> 00:29:03.439
I see the meaning that this image

819
00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:05.329
must have had for you

820
00:29:05.330 --> 00:29:07.429
in the public record of your life.

821
00:29:08.450 --> 00:29:10.609
Throughout the years, this portrait

822
00:29:10.610 --> 00:29:12.799
made appearances in photographs

823
00:29:12.800 --> 00:29:14.509
that were taking a view.

824
00:29:14.510 --> 00:29:16.369
It clearly occupied a place

825
00:29:16.370 --> 00:29:18.289
of prominence in your home

826
00:29:18.290 --> 00:29:20.389
in Laguna Niguel,

827
00:29:20.390 --> 00:29:22.190
Orange County, California.

828
00:29:24.740 --> 00:29:26.659
But it is in your death where

829
00:29:26.660 --> 00:29:29.059
I find evidence of its profound

830
00:29:29.060 --> 00:29:30.290
meaning for you.

831
00:29:35.410 --> 00:29:38.469
And its own immortal destiny.

832
00:29:38.470 --> 00:29:40.209
In your will, you bequeathed many

833
00:29:40.210 --> 00:29:42.309
things to the Royal Danish Library

834
00:29:42.310 --> 00:29:44.439
in Copenhagen, including

835
00:29:44.440 --> 00:29:46.329
personal papers and, of course, that

836
00:29:46.330 --> 00:29:47.769
portrait.

837
00:29:47.770 --> 00:29:50.319
So the window remains open,

838
00:29:50.320 --> 00:29:52.269
and you are known by others who

839
00:29:52.270 --> 00:29:54.489
are separated from you,

840
00:29:54.490 --> 00:29:56.259
not only by the boundaries of the

841
00:29:56.260 --> 00:29:58.720
body, but by time.

842
00:29:59.800 --> 00:30:01.359
Christine, you jump through hoops of

843
00:30:01.360 --> 00:30:03.459
fire to appear on television

844
00:30:03.460 --> 00:30:05.739
and stand upon the stages

845
00:30:05.740 --> 00:30:07.749
where you are nothing if

846
00:30:07.750 --> 00:30:10.899
not be held in the mind

847
00:30:10.900 --> 00:30:13.479
by an audience of others.

848
00:30:13.480 --> 00:30:15.369
We cannot control what they see when

849
00:30:15.370 --> 00:30:17.319
we stand before them, but

850
00:30:17.320 --> 00:30:19.539
we are still seen

851
00:30:19.540 --> 00:30:20.379
on stage.

852
00:30:20.380 --> 00:30:22.449
You performed as a headlining sign

853
00:30:22.450 --> 00:30:24.369
to us in order to

854
00:30:24.370 --> 00:30:26.379
personify a trans

855
00:30:26.380 --> 00:30:28.149
experience.

856
00:30:28.150 --> 00:30:31.299
Audiences came to witness an oddity,

857
00:30:31.300 --> 00:30:33.279
but they got a bona fide star

858
00:30:33.280 --> 00:30:35.259
darling and a charming

859
00:30:35.260 --> 00:30:36.260
on to know.

860
00:30:37.300 --> 00:30:39.069
Did you feel at all like yourself

861
00:30:39.070 --> 00:30:41.139
beneath the stage lights?

862
00:30:41.140 --> 00:30:42.579
Home at last.

863
00:30:42.580 --> 00:30:44.709
In a world where transgender people

864
00:30:44.710 --> 00:30:45.759
have no place?

865
00:30:47.020 --> 00:30:48.849
Was it how you felt when you

866
00:30:48.850 --> 00:30:50.920
were made by brush strokes?

867
00:30:52.960 --> 00:30:54.909
My mother was a teenager when

868
00:30:54.910 --> 00:30:56.619
she read your autobiography in high

869
00:30:56.620 --> 00:30:58.059
school.

870
00:30:58.060 --> 00:31:00.459
That text surely held significance

871
00:31:00.460 --> 00:31:01.269
for you.

872
00:31:01.270 --> 00:31:03.009
How could it not?

873
00:31:03.010 --> 00:31:04.449
Did you know it would be another

874
00:31:04.450 --> 00:31:07.239
window into a human soul,

875
00:31:07.240 --> 00:31:09.279
and that through it your life

876
00:31:09.280 --> 00:31:11.199
would be ongoing and its

877
00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:13.269
impact on others?

878
00:31:14.600 --> 00:31:17.119
I'm grateful that it was written.

879
00:31:17.120 --> 00:31:18.949
Your autobiography was one of

880
00:31:18.950 --> 00:31:20.779
the precedents that my mother had

881
00:31:20.780 --> 00:31:22.609
for understanding me as

882
00:31:22.610 --> 00:31:24.439
a trans woman decades

883
00:31:24.440 --> 00:31:25.440
later.

884
00:31:26.540 --> 00:31:28.549
Flawless Sabrina who

885
00:31:28.550 --> 00:31:30.469
once graced the stage many

886
00:31:30.470 --> 00:31:33.139
years ago. This very room

887
00:31:33.140 --> 00:31:35.359
once said to me,

888
00:31:35.360 --> 00:31:37.669
pioneers seldom live

889
00:31:37.670 --> 00:31:39.649
to walk in the paths

890
00:31:39.650 --> 00:31:40.650
they cut.

891
00:31:42.370 --> 00:31:45.369
We walk in your path, Christine.

892
00:31:45.370 --> 00:31:47.319
We walk in the kaleidoscopic,

893
00:31:47.320 --> 00:31:50.289
ephemeral glitter of your wake.

894
00:31:50.290 --> 00:31:52.269
We honor your sacrifices.

895
00:31:52.270 --> 00:31:53.949
And we honor your grace,

896
00:31:53.950 --> 00:31:55.810
intelligence, and wit.

897
00:31:56.860 --> 00:31:58.419
We celebrate you.

898
00:31:58.420 --> 00:31:59.679
We mourn you.

899
00:31:59.680 --> 00:32:01.929
We see your luminosity

900
00:32:01.930 --> 00:32:04.329
through the window you left open.

901
00:32:04.330 --> 00:32:06.909
Despite the haze of time.

902
00:32:06.910 --> 00:32:08.469
With love.

903
00:32:08.470 --> 00:32:10.089
Exhale the

904
00:32:12.070 --> 00:32:13.070
heat.

905
00:32:13.630 --> 00:32:15.189
Thank you all so much to see you

906
00:32:15.190 --> 00:32:16.359
after the show.

907
00:32:26.240 --> 00:32:28.219
Hi, my name is Christina

908
00:32:28.220 --> 00:32:30.649
Linden. I'm the third coeditor

909
00:32:30.650 --> 00:32:33.619
of Trans History and 99 objects.

910
00:32:33.620 --> 00:32:35.119
And I'm so happy to be here with all

911
00:32:35.120 --> 00:32:36.469
of you tonight. Thank you so much

912
00:32:36.470 --> 00:32:38.029
for coming.

913
00:32:38.030 --> 00:32:39.859
I'm thrilled to introduce

914
00:32:39.860 --> 00:32:41.179
Yuri McMillan.

915
00:32:41.180 --> 00:32:43.129
We had the honor of commissioning

916
00:32:43.130 --> 00:32:44.389
some artwork for this book.

917
00:32:44.390 --> 00:32:46.219
A number of works, including

918
00:32:46.220 --> 00:32:48.079
a sculpture by Kiwi

919
00:32:48.080 --> 00:32:49.069
John Thomas.

920
00:32:49.070 --> 00:32:51.709
And Yuri wrote a piece,

921
00:32:51.710 --> 00:32:54.139
to accompany that entry in the book.

922
00:32:54.140 --> 00:32:55.729
Yuri's a writer based in Los

923
00:32:55.730 --> 00:32:56.839
Angeles.

924
00:32:56.840 --> 00:32:58.909
He's published Essays in

925
00:32:58.910 --> 00:33:00.529
Women in Performance A Journal of

926
00:33:00.530 --> 00:33:01.819
Feminist Theory.

927
00:33:01.820 --> 00:33:03.679
Jill Q A journey of a

928
00:33:03.680 --> 00:33:06.169
Journal of Lesbian and Gay studies,

929
00:33:06.170 --> 00:33:08.059
ASCAP Journal,

930
00:33:08.060 --> 00:33:10.309
and a number of museum

931
00:33:10.310 --> 00:33:11.719
or gallery based publications,

932
00:33:11.720 --> 00:33:13.159
including for the Studio Museum in

933
00:33:13.160 --> 00:33:15.769
Harlem, Aperture Foundation,

934
00:33:15.770 --> 00:33:17.599
the MCA Chicago,

935
00:33:17.600 --> 00:33:18.829
and the Brooklyn Museum.

936
00:33:18.830 --> 00:33:20.329
So join me, please, in welcoming

937
00:33:20.330 --> 00:33:21.330
Yuri.

938
00:33:34.700 --> 00:33:36.140
Hello everyone.

939
00:33:38.330 --> 00:33:40.039
That was a tough act to follow, but

940
00:33:40.040 --> 00:33:41.089
I will do my best.

941
00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:45.000
Okay.

942
00:33:45.800 --> 00:33:47.599
Flour, honey.

943
00:33:47.600 --> 00:33:50.569
Heineken. Beer, lube,

944
00:33:50.570 --> 00:33:52.939
Yak hair, braids, crackers,

945
00:33:52.940 --> 00:33:55.729
sugar and Vaseline.

946
00:33:55.730 --> 00:33:59.329
I tree stump burned at 550°F

947
00:33:59.330 --> 00:34:01.369
for 24 hours until

948
00:34:01.370 --> 00:34:03.499
completely carbonized into a source

949
00:34:03.500 --> 00:34:05.059
of energy.

950
00:34:05.060 --> 00:34:06.109
Black bodies.

951
00:34:07.470 --> 00:34:09.569
It's a history of black trans life,

952
00:34:09.570 --> 00:34:11.549
a story of edible objects,

953
00:34:11.550 --> 00:34:13.619
codec communities and plant

954
00:34:13.620 --> 00:34:15.479
flesh, one where

955
00:34:15.480 --> 00:34:18.479
slippage, conjecture, trespass,

956
00:34:18.480 --> 00:34:20.488
opacity and object

957
00:34:20.489 --> 00:34:22.469
heard are historical gibbons.

958
00:34:23.790 --> 00:34:25.769
The account of Brooklyn based artist

959
00:34:25.770 --> 00:34:27.629
Kiwi icon John

960
00:34:27.630 --> 00:34:30.178
Thomas is apparent in her ability

961
00:34:30.179 --> 00:34:32.729
to fold these queries and others

962
00:34:32.730 --> 00:34:34.589
into her deeply poetic

963
00:34:34.590 --> 00:34:36.689
and performance works.

964
00:34:36.690 --> 00:34:39.238
The collapse of past and the present

965
00:34:39.239 --> 00:34:41.069
but juxtapose juxtaposing

966
00:34:41.070 --> 00:34:44.279
mourning alongside celebration.

967
00:34:44.280 --> 00:34:46.169
Thomas, who identifies as black,

968
00:34:46.170 --> 00:34:48.178
trans and femme content,

969
00:34:48.179 --> 00:34:50.129
continuously tries to stretch

970
00:34:50.130 --> 00:34:52.049
and break the taut containers

971
00:34:52.050 --> 00:34:53.939
around identities and

972
00:34:53.940 --> 00:34:55.829
her multi-disciplinary practice

973
00:34:57.180 --> 00:34:58.619
in her live performance and

974
00:34:58.620 --> 00:35:00.239
multimedia installations.

975
00:35:00.240 --> 00:35:02.189
Thomas repeatedly wields her own,

976
00:35:02.190 --> 00:35:04.259
variously adorned and often

977
00:35:04.260 --> 00:35:06.119
seminude body as an

978
00:35:06.120 --> 00:35:08.429
pliant medium and an instrument

979
00:35:08.430 --> 00:35:10.379
of transcription, a quote

980
00:35:10.380 --> 00:35:12.510
unquote new language and her words.

981
00:35:13.730 --> 00:35:15.769
Hands Up asks out a collection

982
00:35:15.770 --> 00:35:17.689
of seven years of work

983
00:35:17.690 --> 00:35:20.209
between 2014 and 2020,

984
00:35:20.210 --> 00:35:22.039
shown on Participant Inc in New York

985
00:35:22.040 --> 00:35:23.749
in 2021.

986
00:35:23.750 --> 00:35:25.399
Circumnavigate it through low tech

987
00:35:25.400 --> 00:35:27.949
concepts, visibility,

988
00:35:27.950 --> 00:35:30.679
passing, disposable labor,

989
00:35:30.680 --> 00:35:32.509
chattel slavery and black

990
00:35:32.510 --> 00:35:34.399
femme caretaking

991
00:35:34.400 --> 00:35:36.469
in bold and experimental works

992
00:35:36.470 --> 00:35:38.119
that were quietly powerful.

993
00:35:39.490 --> 00:35:41.619
Meanwhile, Thomas is 2022

994
00:35:41.620 --> 00:35:43.449
performance at Parrot and Gallery,

995
00:35:43.450 --> 00:35:45.489
also in New York, and titled,

996
00:35:45.490 --> 00:35:47.829
quote, Come Hell or High Femmes?

997
00:35:47.830 --> 00:35:49.959
Act two the last trans

998
00:35:49.960 --> 00:35:51.939
femmes on earth, dripping

999
00:35:51.940 --> 00:35:54.039
all energy, radically

1000
00:35:54.040 --> 00:35:56.229
imagined a post apocalyptic

1001
00:35:56.230 --> 00:35:58.059
future solely inhabited by

1002
00:35:58.060 --> 00:35:59.060
black femmes.

1003
00:36:00.150 --> 00:36:02.219
Alternatively doused in water.

1004
00:36:02.220 --> 00:36:04.079
A resplendent in glitter.

1005
00:36:04.080 --> 00:36:06.089
Thomas created a communal space

1006
00:36:06.090 --> 00:36:08.279
of affirmation while returning

1007
00:36:08.280 --> 00:36:10.319
to a soundtrack of brash hip

1008
00:36:10.320 --> 00:36:12.509
hop and contemplative ballads

1009
00:36:12.510 --> 00:36:14.499
blend up with the voice, a voiceover

1010
00:36:14.500 --> 00:36:15.510
of her own poetry.

1011
00:36:17.260 --> 00:36:19.179
Thomas's impulse to imagine a

1012
00:36:19.180 --> 00:36:21.009
trans historical poetics

1013
00:36:21.010 --> 00:36:23.139
of black trans life also

1014
00:36:23.140 --> 00:36:25.059
informs her response

1015
00:36:25.060 --> 00:36:27.399
to a shocking 1771

1016
00:36:27.400 --> 00:36:29.289
fugitive slave advertisement in

1017
00:36:29.290 --> 00:36:31.269
a Boston newspaper for

1018
00:36:31.270 --> 00:36:33.459
a Negro man servant

1019
00:36:33.460 --> 00:36:35.559
named Kato, who was also

1020
00:36:35.560 --> 00:36:37.239
known by the name of Miss Betty

1021
00:36:37.240 --> 00:36:38.240
Cooper.

1022
00:36:39.370 --> 00:36:41.619
The seemingly quotidian non-binary

1023
00:36:41.620 --> 00:36:43.569
ism openly alluded to

1024
00:36:43.570 --> 00:36:45.489
in The Wanted ad, and the ad

1025
00:36:45.490 --> 00:36:47.409
as reproduced in the book If You

1026
00:36:47.410 --> 00:36:49.299
Look for it, is suggestive

1027
00:36:49.300 --> 00:36:51.249
of the sly subversion of historical

1028
00:36:51.250 --> 00:36:53.079
figures like Ellen Kraft,

1029
00:36:53.080 --> 00:36:54.969
who cleverly manipulated multiple

1030
00:36:54.970 --> 00:36:57.039
disguises, racial and

1031
00:36:57.040 --> 00:36:59.589
gender passing, feign disability

1032
00:36:59.590 --> 00:37:01.419
and class performance

1033
00:37:01.420 --> 00:37:03.669
in the name of huge activity.

1034
00:37:03.670 --> 00:37:05.979
Rendering seemingly static identity

1035
00:37:05.980 --> 00:37:08.409
markers were remarkably elastic.

1036
00:37:09.510 --> 00:37:10.769
And as William Wells Browne

1037
00:37:10.770 --> 00:37:12.719
documented, such inventive

1038
00:37:12.720 --> 00:37:14.339
and performative scrambles of

1039
00:37:14.340 --> 00:37:17.189
identity were in fact quite common

1040
00:37:17.190 --> 00:37:19.139
and common ploys for the staging

1041
00:37:19.140 --> 00:37:20.310
of the Art of escape.

1042
00:37:21.690 --> 00:37:23.609
At first glance, Thomas's piece,

1043
00:37:23.610 --> 00:37:25.469
called Memories on Cotton and

1044
00:37:25.470 --> 00:37:27.389
Sugar Cane receipts from from

1045
00:37:27.390 --> 00:37:29.249
20 and 22nd May

1046
00:37:29.250 --> 00:37:31.109
seem like a perplexing response

1047
00:37:31.110 --> 00:37:33.479
to this history, resembling

1048
00:37:33.480 --> 00:37:35.399
a provisional monument of

1049
00:37:35.400 --> 00:37:36.209
sorts.

1050
00:37:36.210 --> 00:37:38.009
It recalls sculptor Barbara Chase

1051
00:37:38.010 --> 00:37:39.719
for Ballard's bronze, wax and

1052
00:37:39.720 --> 00:37:41.639
braided sculptures, but on

1053
00:37:41.640 --> 00:37:43.529
decidedly smaller and

1054
00:37:43.530 --> 00:37:44.669
low fi scale.

1055
00:37:45.870 --> 00:37:48.149
At approximately 50in tall,

1056
00:37:48.150 --> 00:37:50.039
the assemblage is also the average

1057
00:37:50.040 --> 00:37:52.439
human eye height, composed

1058
00:37:52.440 --> 00:37:54.239
of a cacophony of heterogeneous

1059
00:37:54.240 --> 00:37:56.699
materials including cotton yarn,

1060
00:37:56.700 --> 00:37:58.649
a blackened tree stump, bubble

1061
00:37:58.650 --> 00:38:00.599
wrap, a hairbrush,

1062
00:38:00.600 --> 00:38:03.299
black balloons, cardboard,

1063
00:38:03.300 --> 00:38:05.129
ceramic snakes, and

1064
00:38:05.130 --> 00:38:07.049
three years worth of the artist on

1065
00:38:07.050 --> 00:38:08.189
hair.

1066
00:38:08.190 --> 00:38:09.869
And alternatively, it's suggestive

1067
00:38:09.870 --> 00:38:12.209
of an alter or vaguely

1068
00:38:12.210 --> 00:38:15.539
an elusive, even mythic person.

1069
00:38:15.540 --> 00:38:17.549
And yet, in my mind, this conceptual

1070
00:38:17.550 --> 00:38:19.829
opacity seems purposeful

1071
00:38:19.830 --> 00:38:21.839
and object based image to

1072
00:38:21.840 --> 00:38:24.359
our own magnificent ancestors,

1073
00:38:24.360 --> 00:38:26.669
whose artfully designed camouflage

1074
00:38:26.670 --> 00:38:28.709
was often in full view.

1075
00:38:28.710 --> 00:38:30.869
While imperceptible to most

1076
00:38:30.870 --> 00:38:33.179
perhaps except for perhaps those

1077
00:38:33.180 --> 00:38:34.979
whose made it, whose mutability was

1078
00:38:34.980 --> 00:38:36.479
also a given.

1079
00:38:36.480 --> 00:38:37.480
Thank you.

1080
00:38:57.320 --> 00:38:58.639
Hello.

1081
00:38:58.640 --> 00:38:59.640
Me again.

1082
00:39:02.760 --> 00:39:03.760
Hi.

1083
00:39:10.280 --> 00:39:11.280
Here it is.

1084
00:39:14.540 --> 00:39:15.589
I'll just use this.

1085
00:39:15.590 --> 00:39:16.699
Never mind.

1086
00:39:16.700 --> 00:39:17.700
What's happening?

1087
00:39:18.930 --> 00:39:20.099
Right there.

1088
00:39:20.100 --> 00:39:21.659
Focus on here.

1089
00:39:21.660 --> 00:39:22.649
Because over here I was hoping to

1090
00:39:22.650 --> 00:39:24.689
stand in the middle of the stage

1091
00:39:24.690 --> 00:39:25.979
so you could see my booth.

1092
00:39:25.980 --> 00:39:28.169
So there's a little preview.

1093
00:39:28.170 --> 00:39:29.170
Okay.

1094
00:39:30.030 --> 00:39:31.139
Hi.

1095
00:39:31.140 --> 00:39:33.059
Edgar Fabian Frias, our next

1096
00:39:33.060 --> 00:39:35.639
presenter, works in installation,

1097
00:39:35.640 --> 00:39:37.499
photography, video art, sound

1098
00:39:37.500 --> 00:39:39.719
sculpture, printed textiles,

1099
00:39:39.720 --> 00:39:41.549
gifts or chips,

1100
00:39:41.550 --> 00:39:42.630
if you want to say it right?

1101
00:39:44.280 --> 00:39:45.280
That's right.

1102
00:39:46.170 --> 00:39:47.249
Just kidding.

1103
00:39:47.250 --> 00:39:48.250
I have no stick.

1104
00:39:49.950 --> 00:39:51.869
Performance, social practice,

1105
00:39:51.870 --> 00:39:53.489
and community organizing, among

1106
00:39:53.490 --> 00:39:54.629
other forms.

1107
00:39:54.630 --> 00:39:56.309
Their art addresses historical

1108
00:39:56.310 --> 00:39:58.319
legacies and acts of resistance,

1109
00:39:58.320 --> 00:40:00.389
resiliency, and radical imagination

1110
00:40:00.390 --> 00:40:02.039
with the context within the context

1111
00:40:02.040 --> 00:40:03.719
of indigenous futurism,

1112
00:40:03.720 --> 00:40:06.539
spirituality, play, pedagogy,

1113
00:40:06.540 --> 00:40:08.610
animism, and queer esthetics.

1114
00:40:09.630 --> 00:40:11.249
Edgar will be reading from The

1115
00:40:11.250 --> 00:40:13.439
Shining. Tarot tribe deck,

1116
00:40:13.440 --> 00:40:15.569
which is created was created

1117
00:40:15.570 --> 00:40:17.849
in 2001 by Rachel Pollock.

1118
00:40:19.430 --> 00:40:20.430
That's right.

1119
00:40:21.590 --> 00:40:22.590
Thanks.

1120
00:40:23.270 --> 00:40:25.159
You responded to your cue.

1121
00:40:25.160 --> 00:40:26.899
Thanks. In addition to being

1122
00:40:26.900 --> 00:40:28.249
considered one of the foremost

1123
00:40:28.250 --> 00:40:30.319
experts on divinatory

1124
00:40:30.320 --> 00:40:31.279
tarot.

1125
00:40:31.280 --> 00:40:32.079
Pollock.

1126
00:40:32.080 --> 00:40:33.439
These. So now you know, the tarot

1127
00:40:33.440 --> 00:40:34.519
people in the audience.

1128
00:40:34.520 --> 00:40:36.049
Pollak was an author of science

1129
00:40:36.050 --> 00:40:37.819
fiction and comic books.

1130
00:40:37.820 --> 00:40:39.979
As the writer for DC Comics

1131
00:40:39.980 --> 00:40:42.289
Doom Patrol between 1993

1132
00:40:42.290 --> 00:40:44.209
and 1995.

1133
00:40:44.210 --> 00:40:46.459
Pollak introduced the character Kate

1134
00:40:46.460 --> 00:40:48.319
Goodwin, who is the

1135
00:40:48.320 --> 00:40:50.269
first transgender superhero in

1136
00:40:50.270 --> 00:40:51.799
mainstream comics.

1137
00:40:51.800 --> 00:40:53.719
So yay,

1138
00:40:53.720 --> 00:40:55.819
Rachel Pollak and rest in peace.

1139
00:40:55.820 --> 00:40:58.099
We lost her last year, so

1140
00:40:58.100 --> 00:41:00.979
send your love to heaven.

1141
00:41:00.980 --> 00:41:02.329
I don't know, don't do that.

1142
00:41:02.330 --> 00:41:03.289
Sorry.

1143
00:41:03.290 --> 00:41:04.519
Forgot I said that.

1144
00:41:04.520 --> 00:41:05.959
Okay. Help me.

1145
00:41:05.960 --> 00:41:07.639
Welcome to the stage, Edgar Fabian

1146
00:41:07.640 --> 00:41:08.640
Frias.

1147
00:41:41.290 --> 00:41:42.290
Hello, everyone.

1148
00:41:44.230 --> 00:41:45.230
Hi.

1149
00:41:47.420 --> 00:41:49.459
We're going to be doing a collective

1150
00:41:49.460 --> 00:41:51.619
three card tarot reading tonight.

1151
00:41:53.600 --> 00:41:55.399
Yeah, you are free to participate if

1152
00:41:55.400 --> 00:41:56.329
you'd like.

1153
00:41:56.330 --> 00:41:58.579
Or also you can just.

1154
00:42:00.040 --> 00:42:00.759
Think about something.

1155
00:42:00.760 --> 00:42:01.760
Else.

1156
00:42:03.400 --> 00:42:05.869
If you'd like to not participate

1157
00:42:05.870 --> 00:42:06.870
in any.

1158
00:42:08.300 --> 00:42:09.559
This reading is going to be a little

1159
00:42:09.560 --> 00:42:11.689
different. I'm going to be

1160
00:42:11.690 --> 00:42:13.399
pulling three cards.

1161
00:42:13.400 --> 00:42:15.409
One for the past,

1162
00:42:15.410 --> 00:42:17.299
one for the present, and

1163
00:42:17.300 --> 00:42:18.409
one for the future.

1164
00:42:19.610 --> 00:42:20.929
And with each card, I'm going to

1165
00:42:20.930 --> 00:42:22.849
share a story from

1166
00:42:22.850 --> 00:42:23.850
my own life.

1167
00:42:25.430 --> 00:42:26.899
That resonates with some of the

1168
00:42:26.900 --> 00:42:28.820
themes or concepts of the card.

1169
00:42:30.110 --> 00:42:32.479
So because this is a personal story

1170
00:42:32.480 --> 00:42:33.799
and I don't know what stories are

1171
00:42:33.800 --> 00:42:35.719
going to come up tonight, I just

1172
00:42:35.720 --> 00:42:37.439
want to say that I deserve the right

1173
00:42:37.440 --> 00:42:38.989
to opacity.

1174
00:42:38.990 --> 00:42:40.969
So you might notice that depending

1175
00:42:40.970 --> 00:42:41.970
on what story comes up.

1176
00:42:45.780 --> 00:42:47.819
So I just want to invite

1177
00:42:47.820 --> 00:42:49.469
you all to just take a moment to get

1178
00:42:49.470 --> 00:42:51.749
grounded and

1179
00:42:51.750 --> 00:42:53.699
help connect to the energy of this

1180
00:42:53.700 --> 00:42:55.949
beautiful Jack I have here.

1181
00:42:55.950 --> 00:42:58.019
The Shining Tribe Tarot

1182
00:42:58.020 --> 00:42:59.909
Deck by Rachel

1183
00:42:59.910 --> 00:43:00.910
Pollak.

1184
00:43:01.740 --> 00:43:03.509
And if you want to either close your

1185
00:43:03.510 --> 00:43:05.519
eyes or focus

1186
00:43:05.520 --> 00:43:08.309
your gaze somewhere,

1187
00:43:08.310 --> 00:43:09.449
I'm going to count to three.

1188
00:43:09.450 --> 00:43:11.399
And I want to invite us as

1189
00:43:11.400 --> 00:43:13.229
a group to take a deep

1190
00:43:13.230 --> 00:43:14.230
breath together.

1191
00:43:15.300 --> 00:43:17.279
One two.

1192
00:43:17.280 --> 00:43:18.299
Three.

1193
00:43:18.300 --> 00:43:19.300
Inhale.

1194
00:43:23.110 --> 00:43:24.110
Exhale.

1195
00:43:28.250 --> 00:43:29.989
We'll do that again.

1196
00:43:29.990 --> 00:43:32.359
One, two,

1197
00:43:32.360 --> 00:43:33.360
three.

1198
00:43:37.930 --> 00:43:38.930
Exhale.

1199
00:43:40.890 --> 00:43:41.279
We'll won't do it.

1200
00:43:41.280 --> 00:43:42.449
One more time.

1201
00:43:42.450 --> 00:43:43.469
One.

1202
00:43:43.470 --> 00:43:44.579
Two.

1203
00:43:44.580 --> 00:43:45.580
Three.

1204
00:43:51.250 --> 00:43:53.350
Staying present here with yourself.

1205
00:43:55.720 --> 00:43:57.280
As you continue to breathe.

1206
00:43:59.040 --> 00:44:02.159
Focus on your body

1207
00:44:02.160 --> 00:44:04.050
and the energy in this space.

1208
00:44:06.700 --> 00:44:08.179
I want to see if you have a

1209
00:44:08.180 --> 00:44:09.199
question.

1210
00:44:10.670 --> 00:44:12.439
Or an intention that you'd like to

1211
00:44:12.440 --> 00:44:13.440
set tonight.

1212
00:44:15.920 --> 00:44:16.920
For this reading.

1213
00:44:19.910 --> 00:44:21.859
It could be as simple as I'm

1214
00:44:21.860 --> 00:44:24.199
here to be present and open.

1215
00:44:25.790 --> 00:44:27.169
Or you might notice something that

1216
00:44:27.170 --> 00:44:28.869
feels really important.

1217
00:44:30.290 --> 00:44:31.370
Thought you'd like to know.

1218
00:44:35.560 --> 00:44:37.419
I want to invite you to

1219
00:44:39.100 --> 00:44:41.289
bring this question or intention

1220
00:44:41.290 --> 00:44:42.290
to your heart.

1221
00:44:48.880 --> 00:44:50.139
We're going to take another deep

1222
00:44:50.140 --> 00:44:52.209
breath together as a group.

1223
00:44:52.210 --> 00:44:54.129
But this time

1224
00:44:54.130 --> 00:44:55.959
I want you to imagine that as

1225
00:44:55.960 --> 00:44:57.789
you inhale,

1226
00:44:57.790 --> 00:44:59.739
you bring your air towards your

1227
00:44:59.740 --> 00:45:00.740
heart.

1228
00:45:02.640 --> 00:45:04.079
And as you exhale.

1229
00:45:05.080 --> 00:45:06.969
You breathe out

1230
00:45:06.970 --> 00:45:09.679
your energy towards this dark.

1231
00:45:09.680 --> 00:45:10.680
Imbuing it.

1232
00:45:11.980 --> 00:45:14.049
With your intention

1233
00:45:14.050 --> 00:45:15.050
or question.

1234
00:45:16.770 --> 00:45:17.969
I'll count to three again.

1235
00:45:19.020 --> 00:45:20.499
One.

1236
00:45:20.500 --> 00:45:21.969
Two three.

1237
00:45:34.100 --> 00:45:36.319
I want to invite you to gently

1238
00:45:36.320 --> 00:45:37.320
come back.

1239
00:45:38.260 --> 00:45:40.030
Open your eyes when you're ready.

1240
00:45:42.920 --> 00:45:44.779
And I'm going to start to.

1241
00:45:44.780 --> 00:45:46.069
Shuffle the cards here.

1242
00:45:54.070 --> 00:45:55.989
So we get our first card for the

1243
00:45:55.990 --> 00:45:57.969
past or the past,

1244
00:45:57.970 --> 00:46:01.179
which is the six of birds.

1245
00:46:01.180 --> 00:46:04.059
So I want to invite you here to

1246
00:46:04.060 --> 00:46:05.060
take a moment.

1247
00:46:06.220 --> 00:46:07.389
And look at this card.

1248
00:46:09.110 --> 00:46:10.159
Just notice.

1249
00:46:11.700 --> 00:46:13.619
With images and

1250
00:46:13.620 --> 00:46:15.179
colors that has.

1251
00:46:18.660 --> 00:46:21.359
To see what your own intuition

1252
00:46:21.360 --> 00:46:23.039
maybe starts to share about this

1253
00:46:23.040 --> 00:46:24.040
card.

1254
00:46:32.900 --> 00:46:35.059
So I used to be a social worker

1255
00:46:35.060 --> 00:46:36.679
in the Bay area.

1256
00:46:36.680 --> 00:46:39.279
I worked at a big nonprofit.

1257
00:46:39.280 --> 00:46:40.089
It was.

1258
00:46:40.090 --> 00:46:41.860
Yeah, it was a really hard job.

1259
00:46:43.000 --> 00:46:45.579
I had over 80 clients

1260
00:46:45.580 --> 00:46:46.630
on my caseload,

1261
00:46:47.710 --> 00:46:49.569
and so many of them needed so

1262
00:46:49.570 --> 00:46:51.999
much support from

1263
00:46:52.000 --> 00:46:54.189
mental health support, medical

1264
00:46:54.190 --> 00:46:56.259
care, financial support,

1265
00:46:56.260 --> 00:46:57.260
housing.

1266
00:46:58.480 --> 00:47:00.639
I was so overwhelmed.

1267
00:47:00.640 --> 00:47:02.259
I could not do this job well.

1268
00:47:02.260 --> 00:47:04.329
And I would ask so much

1269
00:47:04.330 --> 00:47:07.569
for more money, for more time.

1270
00:47:07.570 --> 00:47:09.459
And I just heard over

1271
00:47:09.460 --> 00:47:11.379
and over again, we don't

1272
00:47:11.380 --> 00:47:12.519
have money.

1273
00:47:12.520 --> 00:47:13.779
It's we're broke.

1274
00:47:13.780 --> 00:47:14.829
The government doesn't give us

1275
00:47:14.830 --> 00:47:15.830
enough money.

1276
00:47:17.380 --> 00:47:18.819
There's just nothing we can do.

1277
00:47:18.820 --> 00:47:20.199
You just have to make it happen.

1278
00:47:20.200 --> 00:47:21.200
Make it work.

1279
00:47:22.640 --> 00:47:24.769
And one day I was feeling really

1280
00:47:24.770 --> 00:47:26.749
stressed out, and

1281
00:47:26.750 --> 00:47:28.669
I spoke to my friends

1282
00:47:28.670 --> 00:47:29.869
who worked in H.R.

1283
00:47:30.980 --> 00:47:33.049
and was just sharing about how hard

1284
00:47:33.050 --> 00:47:34.280
I was finding my job.

1285
00:47:36.030 --> 00:47:38.849
And she said,

1286
00:47:38.850 --> 00:47:40.499
yeah, I understand.

1287
00:47:40.500 --> 00:47:41.909
And all they say is that they don't

1288
00:47:41.910 --> 00:47:43.859
have money and that they can't

1289
00:47:43.860 --> 00:47:45.719
do anything for you.

1290
00:47:45.720 --> 00:47:48.299
She's like, but I feel like

1291
00:47:48.300 --> 00:47:50.219
that's not true.

1292
00:47:50.220 --> 00:47:51.539
And I looked at her and I was like,

1293
00:47:51.540 --> 00:47:52.769
what do you mean?

1294
00:47:52.770 --> 00:47:54.060
And she got really quiet.

1295
00:47:55.530 --> 00:47:57.360
And just kind of winked at me,

1296
00:47:58.650 --> 00:48:00.479
and a few hours later, she stopped

1297
00:48:00.480 --> 00:48:01.859
by my desk while I was doing

1298
00:48:01.860 --> 00:48:02.860
paperwork.

1299
00:48:03.540 --> 00:48:05.369
And she left a big pile of papers

1300
00:48:05.370 --> 00:48:07.349
on my desk and she said, do

1301
00:48:07.350 --> 00:48:08.350
with this what you will.

1302
00:48:10.350 --> 00:48:12.479
What it was, was are executive

1303
00:48:12.480 --> 00:48:13.949
directors.

1304
00:48:13.950 --> 00:48:15.300
Financial information.

1305
00:48:20.810 --> 00:48:25.400
He was making over $500,000.

1306
00:48:26.870 --> 00:48:27.949
In his position.

1307
00:48:30.300 --> 00:48:31.889
This was during a time where the

1308
00:48:31.890 --> 00:48:33.959
mayor of San Francisco

1309
00:48:33.960 --> 00:48:35.819
was making just a little over

1310
00:48:35.820 --> 00:48:37.199
100,000.

1311
00:48:39.430 --> 00:48:41.319
And he was one of the main

1312
00:48:41.320 --> 00:48:43.389
people who would say

1313
00:48:43.390 --> 00:48:44.860
that we didn't have enough.

1314
00:48:48.000 --> 00:48:50.579
And so, as you would imagine,

1315
00:48:50.580 --> 00:48:52.349
I started sharing this information

1316
00:48:52.350 --> 00:48:53.430
with my coworkers.

1317
00:48:58.640 --> 00:49:00.799
We started meeting in secret.

1318
00:49:00.800 --> 00:49:02.089
We started talking.

1319
00:49:02.090 --> 00:49:03.709
We started scheming.

1320
00:49:05.960 --> 00:49:07.669
And after a while we came up with a

1321
00:49:07.670 --> 00:49:08.670
plan.

1322
00:49:09.320 --> 00:49:10.909
We decided we were going to go

1323
00:49:10.910 --> 00:49:12.199
together.

1324
00:49:12.200 --> 00:49:14.089
The 15 of us,

1325
00:49:14.090 --> 00:49:15.499
to the next board meeting,

1326
00:49:17.060 --> 00:49:18.439
and we were going to confront him.

1327
00:49:20.540 --> 00:49:22.339
And so that's what we did.

1328
00:49:22.340 --> 00:49:24.229
And I was tasked to

1329
00:49:24.230 --> 00:49:26.329
be the one to speak

1330
00:49:26.330 --> 00:49:27.380
directly to him.

1331
00:49:30.290 --> 00:49:32.149
And I remember

1332
00:49:32.150 --> 00:49:34.099
how much I was shaking

1333
00:49:34.100 --> 00:49:36.139
and trembling when

1334
00:49:36.140 --> 00:49:37.969
I looked at him in the eyes and I

1335
00:49:37.970 --> 00:49:39.859
said, you are the one who's

1336
00:49:39.860 --> 00:49:42.289
always telling us we're broke,

1337
00:49:42.290 --> 00:49:43.729
that we don't have enough money for

1338
00:49:43.730 --> 00:49:45.709
our clients, that we don't have

1339
00:49:45.710 --> 00:49:47.269
enough money to pay our social

1340
00:49:47.270 --> 00:49:49.099
workers, better that we

1341
00:49:49.100 --> 00:49:50.929
don't have enough hours, that we

1342
00:49:50.930 --> 00:49:52.669
don't have enough resources.

1343
00:49:52.670 --> 00:49:54.589
And yet here we know that

1344
00:49:54.590 --> 00:49:57.349
you're making over $500,000

1345
00:49:57.350 --> 00:49:59.479
a year in your position.

1346
00:49:59.480 --> 00:50:00.919
Clef other benefits.

1347
00:50:03.140 --> 00:50:05.269
We have

1348
00:50:05.270 --> 00:50:07.219
people on hold who work

1349
00:50:07.220 --> 00:50:08.220
with the media

1350
00:50:09.230 --> 00:50:11.089
and we will share this information.

1351
00:50:11.090 --> 00:50:12.559
If this is not addressed.

1352
00:50:20.490 --> 00:50:22.469
And I was in an altered

1353
00:50:22.470 --> 00:50:24.539
state of awareness by that time,

1354
00:50:24.540 --> 00:50:25.560
as you would imagine.

1355
00:50:26.610 --> 00:50:27.959
I don't really remember what he

1356
00:50:27.960 --> 00:50:29.729
said. I just remember he looked so

1357
00:50:29.730 --> 00:50:30.730
angry.

1358
00:50:32.940 --> 00:50:35.999
But he resigned

1359
00:50:36.000 --> 00:50:37.859
a month later from

1360
00:50:37.860 --> 00:50:38.860
his position.

1361
00:50:43.540 --> 00:50:45.519
So never underestimate the power

1362
00:50:45.520 --> 00:50:47.050
of a sacred smuggler.

1363
00:50:50.820 --> 00:50:53.519
Or the power of a group organizing.

1364
00:50:54.950 --> 00:50:55.950
In the darkness.

1365
00:50:59.120 --> 00:51:00.889
So now we're moving to the present

1366
00:51:00.890 --> 00:51:02.779
moment with the second card

1367
00:51:02.780 --> 00:51:03.890
for our reading tonight.

1368
00:51:05.260 --> 00:51:07.869
This is the energy of this moment,

1369
00:51:07.870 --> 00:51:09.609
and it is so interesting that we get

1370
00:51:09.610 --> 00:51:10.610
the strength card.

1371
00:51:11.900 --> 00:51:14.179
Which is the card of the year

1372
00:51:14.180 --> 00:51:15.180
this year.

1373
00:51:19.880 --> 00:51:21.239
So again, take a moment.

1374
00:51:21.240 --> 00:51:22.639
Notice what shows up.

1375
00:51:24.510 --> 00:51:26.069
As you look at this card as he

1376
00:51:26.070 --> 00:51:28.560
noticed the colors, the patterns.

1377
00:51:31.520 --> 00:51:33.469
See what your own intuition says

1378
00:51:33.470 --> 00:51:34.470
about this card.

1379
00:51:43.610 --> 00:51:45.439
So back in 2010, I used

1380
00:51:45.440 --> 00:51:47.659
to live in Portland, Oregon,

1381
00:51:47.660 --> 00:51:49.219
and I.

1382
00:51:50.460 --> 00:51:52.349
We'd hear the same thing

1383
00:51:52.350 --> 00:51:54.479
over and over from my beloved

1384
00:51:54.480 --> 00:51:55.800
queer and trans community.

1385
00:51:57.350 --> 00:51:59.209
It was maybe a little

1386
00:51:59.210 --> 00:52:00.649
different every time people shared

1387
00:52:00.650 --> 00:52:02.269
it, but it went a little bit like

1388
00:52:02.270 --> 00:52:03.270
this.

1389
00:52:03.970 --> 00:52:05.979
One of these fucking institutions

1390
00:52:05.980 --> 00:52:07.599
care about the work we're making.

1391
00:52:09.160 --> 00:52:11.379
We're creating music

1392
00:52:11.380 --> 00:52:13.329
and art, and all they're

1393
00:52:13.330 --> 00:52:14.649
doing is platforming.

1394
00:52:14.650 --> 00:52:16.780
Fifth straight white man.

1395
00:52:18.370 --> 00:52:20.259
What do we need to do for

1396
00:52:20.260 --> 00:52:21.550
them to notice us?

1397
00:52:23.540 --> 00:52:25.969
There was so much anger

1398
00:52:25.970 --> 00:52:27.889
and I resonated because

1399
00:52:27.890 --> 00:52:29.299
I felt the same way.

1400
00:52:31.520 --> 00:52:33.499
And then one day a friend

1401
00:52:33.500 --> 00:52:35.599
of mine approached me and said,

1402
00:52:35.600 --> 00:52:37.999
hey, Edgar, I had an idea.

1403
00:52:38.000 --> 00:52:40.129
I was listening, lifting some right

1404
00:52:40.130 --> 00:52:43.069
girl, and I realized

1405
00:52:43.070 --> 00:52:45.739
we can make our own music festival.

1406
00:52:45.740 --> 00:52:47.659
We can create our own space for our

1407
00:52:47.660 --> 00:52:48.729
own communities.

1408
00:52:50.530 --> 00:52:52.959
And I knew that this was the moment

1409
00:52:52.960 --> 00:52:54.849
that I was waiting for a

1410
00:52:54.850 --> 00:52:56.650
place to put this anger.

1411
00:52:58.760 --> 00:53:01.299
So from 2010 to

1412
00:53:01.300 --> 00:53:04.279
2015, we organized

1413
00:53:04.280 --> 00:53:06.139
the Not Enough Queer and Trans

1414
00:53:06.140 --> 00:53:07.969
Music and Arts Festival in

1415
00:53:07.970 --> 00:53:09.559
Portland, Oregon.

1416
00:53:09.560 --> 00:53:12.529
We inhabited abandoned buildings.

1417
00:53:12.530 --> 00:53:14.629
We rented out private

1418
00:53:14.630 --> 00:53:16.189
spaces.

1419
00:53:16.190 --> 00:53:18.679
It was all community funded

1420
00:53:18.680 --> 00:53:20.509
and we helped dozens

1421
00:53:20.510 --> 00:53:22.369
of artists, musicians,

1422
00:53:22.370 --> 00:53:24.469
performers share

1423
00:53:24.470 --> 00:53:25.470
their art.

1424
00:53:33.120 --> 00:53:34.949
And not only that, but people

1425
00:53:34.950 --> 00:53:36.599
saw what we were doing.

1426
00:53:36.600 --> 00:53:38.159
And they got inspired.

1427
00:53:38.160 --> 00:53:40.799
And they had their own festivals,

1428
00:53:40.800 --> 00:53:42.329
their own events.

1429
00:53:42.330 --> 00:53:44.489
There were some that emerged in

1430
00:53:44.490 --> 00:53:46.379
Edmonton, Canada, in New

1431
00:53:46.380 --> 00:53:48.749
Orleans and Oakland,

1432
00:53:48.750 --> 00:53:49.949
California.

1433
00:53:51.600 --> 00:53:53.669
We inspired others to

1434
00:53:54.750 --> 00:53:56.549
make a seat for themselves at the

1435
00:53:56.550 --> 00:53:58.379
table when others weren't

1436
00:53:58.380 --> 00:53:59.380
willing to.

1437
00:54:00.870 --> 00:54:02.070
So just remember,

1438
00:54:03.480 --> 00:54:05.969
if there are people who do not want

1439
00:54:05.970 --> 00:54:06.989
to share your art.

1440
00:54:08.040 --> 00:54:10.619
Create space for yourself

1441
00:54:10.620 --> 00:54:11.620
and for others.

1442
00:54:24.720 --> 00:54:26.609
So this is our last card and this is

1443
00:54:26.610 --> 00:54:28.019
the future. This is where we're

1444
00:54:28.020 --> 00:54:29.020
headed.

1445
00:54:31.890 --> 00:54:33.359
And we get the three of birds.

1446
00:54:39.610 --> 00:54:41.289
Again. Take a moment and look at

1447
00:54:41.290 --> 00:54:42.290
this card.

1448
00:54:45.790 --> 00:54:47.260
See what shows up for you.

1449
00:54:50.190 --> 00:54:52.019
What the colors and the

1450
00:54:52.020 --> 00:54:53.999
symbols share with you.

1451
00:55:07.280 --> 00:55:09.079
You know, sometimes it's really hard

1452
00:55:09.080 --> 00:55:11.119
to know

1453
00:55:11.120 --> 00:55:13.460
when you're having a big moment

1454
00:55:15.290 --> 00:55:16.400
to know when.

1455
00:55:18.060 --> 00:55:19.949
Something is really meaningful and

1456
00:55:19.950 --> 00:55:21.030
life changing.

1457
00:55:24.550 --> 00:55:26.799
We've all built defenses

1458
00:55:26.800 --> 00:55:28.150
to protect ourselves.

1459
00:55:29.330 --> 00:55:31.009
To not see what's really there

1460
00:55:31.010 --> 00:55:32.010
sometimes.

1461
00:55:35.230 --> 00:55:36.310
And it makes sense.

1462
00:55:38.110 --> 00:55:40.689
A lot of us have had trauma.

1463
00:55:40.690 --> 00:55:42.400
We've had to protect ourselves.

1464
00:55:47.410 --> 00:55:49.119
But then there are those moments.

1465
00:55:50.370 --> 00:55:52.229
When you feel

1466
00:55:52.230 --> 00:55:53.370
your defenses.

1467
00:55:54.950 --> 00:55:55.950
Lower.

1468
00:56:00.550 --> 00:56:02.679
You feel your inner child show

1469
00:56:02.680 --> 00:56:03.680
up.

1470
00:56:05.130 --> 00:56:07.019
And be with you in the

1471
00:56:07.020 --> 00:56:08.020
moment.

1472
00:56:10.330 --> 00:56:12.219
And really see the

1473
00:56:12.220 --> 00:56:13.220
impact.

1474
00:56:14.040 --> 00:56:15.040
Of the present.

1475
00:56:21.360 --> 00:56:23.969
Knowing that this life

1476
00:56:23.970 --> 00:56:25.170
is not forever.

1477
00:56:29.800 --> 00:56:31.360
And that this is all we have.

1478
00:56:44.700 --> 00:56:46.289
And in those moments, you know

1479
00:56:46.290 --> 00:56:47.290
you're not alone.

1480
00:56:49.170 --> 00:56:51.659
You know that you're with spirit.

1481
00:56:51.660 --> 00:56:54.839
You're with are divine transistors.

1482
00:56:54.840 --> 00:56:55.840
You're held.

1483
00:56:57.130 --> 00:56:58.779
You're cared for.

1484
00:56:58.780 --> 00:57:00.129
You're seen.

1485
00:57:00.130 --> 00:57:01.130
You're loved.

1486
00:57:09.640 --> 00:57:11.049
And you just have to let yourself

1487
00:57:11.050 --> 00:57:12.549
feel.

1488
00:57:12.550 --> 00:57:13.550
And take it in.

1489
00:57:29.640 --> 00:57:30.659
Thank you everyone.

1490
00:57:43.000 --> 00:57:44.979
I'd love to invite us just to close

1491
00:57:44.980 --> 00:57:46.989
this space that we've created here

1492
00:57:46.990 --> 00:57:48.819
together, to just take another

1493
00:57:48.820 --> 00:57:50.379
deep breath as a group.

1494
00:57:50.380 --> 00:57:52.059
I'm going to just count to three and

1495
00:57:52.060 --> 00:57:53.349
invite us to take another breath,

1496
00:57:53.350 --> 00:57:54.730
just to close this space.

1497
00:57:55.800 --> 00:57:57.689
One, two,

1498
00:57:57.690 --> 00:57:58.690
three.

1499
00:58:08.330 --> 00:58:09.330
Thank you so much.

1500
00:58:45.810 --> 00:58:46.649
Hi all.

1501
00:58:46.650 --> 00:58:48.269
Thank you so much again, Edgar, for

1502
00:58:48.270 --> 00:58:50.069
sharing that tonight.

1503
00:58:50.070 --> 00:58:51.090
That was so beautiful.

1504
00:58:55.250 --> 00:58:56.959
I have the pleasure to introduce our

1505
00:58:56.960 --> 00:58:59.090
two next and final speakers.

1506
00:59:00.410 --> 00:59:01.729
Each of them is going to read their

1507
00:59:01.730 --> 00:59:03.290
entries from the book.

1508
00:59:04.460 --> 00:59:05.779
And together they're going to then

1509
00:59:05.780 --> 00:59:07.999
be joined the conversation,

1510
00:59:08.000 --> 00:59:10.189
to talk about trans and butch,

1511
00:59:10.190 --> 00:59:12.169
trans masculine and butch kind of

1512
00:59:12.170 --> 00:59:14.209
hear stories throughout this

1513
00:59:14.210 --> 00:59:15.210
project.

1514
00:59:15.830 --> 00:59:17.929
So our first speaker tonight will be

1515
00:59:17.930 --> 00:59:19.939
Amos Mack, who is an out

1516
00:59:19.940 --> 00:59:21.769
trans artist, writer

1517
00:59:21.770 --> 00:59:23.569
and co-founder of Original Plumbing

1518
00:59:23.570 --> 00:59:24.570
magazine.

1519
00:59:25.220 --> 00:59:26.220
Who.

1520
00:59:28.520 --> 00:59:30.079
Amos has written and produced for

1521
00:59:30.080 --> 00:59:32.029
television shows including Gossip

1522
00:59:32.030 --> 00:59:34.489
Girl, Clean Slate

1523
00:59:34.490 --> 00:59:36.589
and Gay creation, and co-wrote

1524
00:59:36.590 --> 00:59:39.049
No Ordinary Man, a documentary

1525
00:59:39.050 --> 00:59:40.879
about the complicated jazz man,

1526
00:59:40.880 --> 00:59:43.039
and trans icon Billy Tipton,

1527
00:59:43.040 --> 00:59:44.929
which Amos often also

1528
00:59:44.930 --> 00:59:46.280
wrote about for our book.

1529
00:59:48.350 --> 00:59:49.819
Amos will be followed by Raquel

1530
00:59:49.820 --> 00:59:51.739
Gutierrez, who is an award

1531
00:59:51.740 --> 00:59:53.959
winning critic, essayist, poet

1532
00:59:53.960 --> 00:59:55.729
and educator based in southern

1533
00:59:55.730 --> 00:59:57.109
Arizona.

1534
00:59:57.110 --> 00:59:59.239
Gutierrez's first book, Brown Neon,

1535
00:59:59.240 --> 01:00:01.249
published by coffee House press,

1536
01:00:01.250 --> 01:00:03.169
was named one of the best books

1537
01:00:03.170 --> 01:00:05.179
of 2022

1538
01:00:05.180 --> 01:00:06.260
by The New Yorker.

1539
01:00:08.660 --> 01:00:10.669
And listed in the best Art

1540
01:00:10.670 --> 01:00:13.429
books of 2022 by Hyperallergic.

1541
01:00:13.430 --> 01:00:15.259
So not to be missed.

1542
01:00:15.260 --> 01:00:16.999
Raquel will be speaking about Nancy

1543
01:00:17.000 --> 01:00:18.000
Valverde.

1544
01:00:18.980 --> 01:00:21.019
And these two important icons.

1545
01:00:21.020 --> 01:00:22.219
So thank you so much.

1546
01:00:22.220 --> 01:00:23.569
And I'm going to I don't know why

1547
01:00:23.570 --> 01:00:24.889
I'm keep thanking everyone here, but

1548
01:00:24.890 --> 01:00:25.849
thank you for being here.

1549
01:00:25.850 --> 01:00:27.919
And, please welcome and sage Amos

1550
01:00:27.920 --> 01:00:28.920
and Raquel.

1551
01:00:40.830 --> 01:00:41.830
Hi.

1552
01:00:42.910 --> 01:00:44.859
Billy Tipton plays

1553
01:00:44.860 --> 01:00:46.300
Hi-Fi on piano.

1554
01:00:49.250 --> 01:00:51.589
Two Li-Ning model Ask Women

1555
01:00:51.590 --> 01:00:53.659
flank a seated fellow sitting

1556
01:00:53.660 --> 01:00:55.579
behind piano keys.

1557
01:00:55.580 --> 01:00:56.900
The man gazes upward.

1558
01:00:58.340 --> 01:00:59.929
Hands at the ready pocket square

1559
01:00:59.930 --> 01:01:01.789
detail peeking out to say hello.

1560
01:01:01.790 --> 01:01:03.679
School picture day smirk barely

1561
01:01:03.680 --> 01:01:05.690
touching on his 43 years.

1562
01:01:07.450 --> 01:01:09.129
Billy Tipton has been in the ether

1563
01:01:09.130 --> 01:01:10.959
for as long as I can remember.

1564
01:01:10.960 --> 01:01:12.699
I first saw the cover of Billy

1565
01:01:12.700 --> 01:01:14.619
Tipton Plays Hi-Fi on piano from

1566
01:01:14.620 --> 01:01:17.259
1957, during a particularly

1567
01:01:17.260 --> 01:01:19.179
desperate moment in the

1568
01:01:19.180 --> 01:01:21.309
olden days of trans googling.

1569
01:01:24.400 --> 01:01:26.229
Actually, since it was early 2000, I

1570
01:01:26.230 --> 01:01:27.760
was probably asking Jeeves.

1571
01:01:30.010 --> 01:01:31.149
And what I curated.

1572
01:01:31.150 --> 01:01:32.859
What I queried Jeeves for

1573
01:01:32.860 --> 01:01:34.869
specifically were websites that

1574
01:01:34.870 --> 01:01:36.789
showed me a cache of famous

1575
01:01:36.790 --> 01:01:38.739
trans men, or prove

1576
01:01:38.740 --> 01:01:40.689
that trans guys in history

1577
01:01:40.690 --> 01:01:42.099
existed.

1578
01:01:42.100 --> 01:01:44.139
Anything to link my experience

1579
01:01:44.140 --> 01:01:46.779
to some sort of historical radar

1580
01:01:46.780 --> 01:01:48.579
blip in pop culture, darling?

1581
01:01:50.520 --> 01:01:52.589
My memory from this moment, which

1582
01:01:52.590 --> 01:01:54.929
is not at all reliable.

1583
01:01:54.930 --> 01:01:56.699
Starts with the GeoCities website.

1584
01:01:58.440 --> 01:02:00.389
Up pops a string of

1585
01:02:00.390 --> 01:02:02.609
gyrating, low resolution

1586
01:02:02.610 --> 01:02:03.610
music notes.

1587
01:02:04.650 --> 01:02:06.539
Billy Tipton's name blinks front

1588
01:02:06.540 --> 01:02:08.549
and center with an oversaturated

1589
01:02:08.550 --> 01:02:10.019
scan of a record album cover.

1590
01:02:11.130 --> 01:02:11.939
Below it.

1591
01:02:11.940 --> 01:02:13.799
Facts lie next to bullet

1592
01:02:13.800 --> 01:02:14.800
points.

1593
01:02:15.400 --> 01:02:17.109
Stealth trans man.

1594
01:02:18.350 --> 01:02:20.539
Father of three adopted sons.

1595
01:02:21.750 --> 01:02:23.460
Married five times.

1596
01:02:25.110 --> 01:02:26.999
Successful jazz musician and

1597
01:02:27.000 --> 01:02:28.739
active in the 40s and 50s.

1598
01:02:29.920 --> 01:02:32.049
Died from an untreated stomach

1599
01:02:32.050 --> 01:02:33.050
ulcer.

1600
01:02:34.170 --> 01:02:35.400
How did after death.

1601
01:02:37.450 --> 01:02:39.039
What happened to Billy Tipton after

1602
01:02:39.040 --> 01:02:41.199
he died in 1989, penniless

1603
01:02:41.200 --> 01:02:42.939
and in the arms of his youngest son,

1604
01:02:42.940 --> 01:02:44.649
is nothing short of a wild

1605
01:02:44.650 --> 01:02:46.150
reimagination of his career.

1606
01:02:47.690 --> 01:02:49.549
With his posthumous outing by

1607
01:02:49.550 --> 01:02:51.409
the coroner to the local press.

1608
01:02:51.410 --> 01:02:53.629
Or was it the EMT or

1609
01:02:53.630 --> 01:02:55.849
his most recent ex-wife?

1610
01:02:55.850 --> 01:02:57.709
Tipton's story blew up on

1611
01:02:57.710 --> 01:02:59.359
the national scale and became fodder

1612
01:02:59.360 --> 01:03:00.529
for talk show circuits.

1613
01:03:00.530 --> 01:03:03.139
And star magazine exposes,

1614
01:03:03.140 --> 01:03:04.639
using language that we've left in

1615
01:03:04.640 --> 01:03:06.349
the 90s for good reason.

1616
01:03:09.400 --> 01:03:10.899
But with this grand exposure on his

1617
01:03:10.900 --> 01:03:12.969
life after death, Tipton

1618
01:03:12.970 --> 01:03:14.439
went from regional working class

1619
01:03:14.440 --> 01:03:16.419
jazz musician to a larger than

1620
01:03:16.420 --> 01:03:18.579
life artist, a touchstone

1621
01:03:18.580 --> 01:03:20.110
for some queer and trans people.

1622
01:03:21.370 --> 01:03:23.379
While he was alive, Tipton never got

1623
01:03:23.380 --> 01:03:24.639
too famous.

1624
01:03:24.640 --> 01:03:27.039
Some argue by choice,

1625
01:03:27.040 --> 01:03:28.659
but he worked hard and he rose out

1626
01:03:28.660 --> 01:03:30.639
of depression era Oklahoma City, and

1627
01:03:30.640 --> 01:03:32.050
he toured doing what he loved.

1628
01:03:33.160 --> 01:03:35.109
He eventually became a bandleader.

1629
01:03:35.110 --> 01:03:37.359
He founded the Billy Tipton Trio,

1630
01:03:37.360 --> 01:03:39.309
and he played until arthritis forced

1631
01:03:39.310 --> 01:03:41.229
him to transition to a quiet desk

1632
01:03:41.230 --> 01:03:42.940
job in Spokane, Washington.

1633
01:03:44.690 --> 01:03:46.519
His. He aged in solitude.

1634
01:03:46.520 --> 01:03:48.349
Ephemera from his heyday kept

1635
01:03:48.350 --> 01:03:50.869
in scrapbooks alongside

1636
01:03:50.870 --> 01:03:52.279
his black and white promotional

1637
01:03:52.280 --> 01:03:53.280
glossies.

1638
01:03:54.630 --> 01:03:56.339
What physically remains of Billy

1639
01:03:56.340 --> 01:03:58.739
Tipton is this record.

1640
01:03:58.740 --> 01:04:00.929
One of two he recorded for Tops

1641
01:04:00.930 --> 01:04:02.999
Records, while Tipton

1642
01:04:03.000 --> 01:04:04.349
wrote and performed the occasional

1643
01:04:04.350 --> 01:04:05.549
original song.

1644
01:04:05.550 --> 01:04:07.139
The songs on these albums are

1645
01:04:07.140 --> 01:04:09.419
exclusively covers.

1646
01:04:09.420 --> 01:04:11.279
In the 1950s, tops released

1647
01:04:11.280 --> 01:04:13.229
popular hits covered and by

1648
01:04:13.230 --> 01:04:15.359
relatively unknown session musicians

1649
01:04:15.360 --> 01:04:17.219
to sell at gas stations and five and

1650
01:04:17.220 --> 01:04:18.149
dimes.

1651
01:04:18.150 --> 01:04:20.429
Priced at only $0.39

1652
01:04:20.430 --> 01:04:22.409
a Tops record was a deal compared

1653
01:04:22.410 --> 01:04:24.449
to $0.79 for an album by a major

1654
01:04:24.450 --> 01:04:25.450
label.

1655
01:04:26.220 --> 01:04:27.719
My favorite part of this album,

1656
01:04:27.720 --> 01:04:29.399
besides the biography on the back,

1657
01:04:29.400 --> 01:04:30.899
rumored to have been written by

1658
01:04:30.900 --> 01:04:33.149
Tipton himself, where he shaves

1659
01:04:33.150 --> 01:04:35.129
five years off of his age,

1660
01:04:35.130 --> 01:04:37.109
naturally, is

1661
01:04:37.110 --> 01:04:38.160
the cover photo.

1662
01:04:39.780 --> 01:04:41.429
I imagine Billy Tipton played art

1663
01:04:41.430 --> 01:04:43.169
director in this moment, requesting

1664
01:04:43.170 --> 01:04:44.849
not one model, but two.

1665
01:04:46.200 --> 01:04:47.879
He looks up to the women with

1666
01:04:47.880 --> 01:04:50.399
adoration, a willing audience.

1667
01:04:50.400 --> 01:04:52.259
While the album cover image may look

1668
01:04:52.260 --> 01:04:54.179
like camp today.

1669
01:04:54.180 --> 01:04:56.249
Billy Tipton felt that he was

1670
01:04:56.250 --> 01:04:57.779
serving the highest level of

1671
01:04:57.780 --> 01:05:00.239
masculinity and class

1672
01:05:00.240 --> 01:05:02.609
exactly how I wanted to be seen

1673
01:05:02.610 --> 01:05:04.440
and how he hoped to be remembered.

1674
01:05:22.250 --> 01:05:23.250
Good evening.

1675
01:05:25.150 --> 01:05:26.979
Nancy Verde stands

1676
01:05:26.980 --> 01:05:27.980
akimbo.

1677
01:05:28.780 --> 01:05:30.459
She knows the streets of East Los

1678
01:05:30.460 --> 01:05:33.279
Angeles in ways we never will.

1679
01:05:33.280 --> 01:05:35.109
She spent her adolescence

1680
01:05:35.110 --> 01:05:36.909
driving sex workers around its

1681
01:05:36.910 --> 01:05:38.349
various neighborhoods.

1682
01:05:38.350 --> 01:05:40.269
A place she landed at nine years

1683
01:05:40.270 --> 01:05:42.309
old when her parents spirited her

1684
01:05:42.310 --> 01:05:44.169
away from Deming, New

1685
01:05:44.170 --> 01:05:45.279
Mexico.

1686
01:05:45.280 --> 01:05:46.689
Not for the bright lights of the big

1687
01:05:46.690 --> 01:05:48.099
city, but for the bridges of East

1688
01:05:48.100 --> 01:05:50.379
Los that carry the neighborhood's

1689
01:05:50.380 --> 01:05:52.359
working class Chicanos into

1690
01:05:52.360 --> 01:05:54.519
the city's various industrial

1691
01:05:54.520 --> 01:05:55.570
workplaces.

1692
01:05:56.620 --> 01:05:58.569
Boulware has been working since

1693
01:05:58.570 --> 01:06:00.549
she was ten years old, she tells me

1694
01:06:00.550 --> 01:06:03.099
in her old Montebello home

1695
01:06:03.100 --> 01:06:04.869
just a few years before she moves

1696
01:06:04.870 --> 01:06:06.699
into Triangle Square,

1697
01:06:06.700 --> 01:06:09.219
a complex of housing units for LGBT

1698
01:06:09.220 --> 01:06:11.439
elders in Hollywood.

1699
01:06:11.440 --> 01:06:12.789
Balbir then narrates her

1700
01:06:12.790 --> 01:06:14.079
introduction to the types of

1701
01:06:14.080 --> 01:06:16.149
underground economies available

1702
01:06:16.150 --> 01:06:17.979
to ball daggers, as a mysterious

1703
01:06:17.980 --> 01:06:19.629
dancing lady in the revealing red

1704
01:06:19.630 --> 01:06:21.729
dress hovers above this

1705
01:06:21.730 --> 01:06:22.900
old butcher's head.

1706
01:06:24.650 --> 01:06:25.519
It's a painting.

1707
01:06:25.520 --> 01:06:27.199
A velvet painting mounted on the

1708
01:06:27.200 --> 01:06:29.029
wall of her home.

1709
01:06:29.030 --> 01:06:30.949
I read it as an altar to the femme

1710
01:06:30.950 --> 01:06:33.049
supremacy that has led Val Verde

1711
01:06:33.050 --> 01:06:35.479
valiantly down East Los Angeles's

1712
01:06:35.480 --> 01:06:37.459
shadowy back alleys to revel

1713
01:06:37.460 --> 01:06:39.170
in and defend.

1714
01:06:40.640 --> 01:06:42.499
Val Verde stiffens to show

1715
01:06:42.500 --> 01:06:44.059
how she stood in front of the door

1716
01:06:44.060 --> 01:06:46.309
to listen for any rough stuff.

1717
01:06:46.310 --> 01:06:48.499
Arms folded over her chest,

1718
01:06:48.500 --> 01:06:50.329
standing sentinel and keeping

1719
01:06:50.330 --> 01:06:52.159
an eye out for cops looking for a

1720
01:06:52.160 --> 01:06:53.689
reason.

1721
01:06:53.690 --> 01:06:55.639
But she herself

1722
01:06:55.640 --> 01:06:57.559
has had to look out for her own

1723
01:06:57.560 --> 01:06:59.570
vulnerable state as well.

1724
01:07:01.370 --> 01:07:03.229
I interview her as I am

1725
01:07:03.230 --> 01:07:04.939
in the process of writing a play

1726
01:07:04.940 --> 01:07:06.529
based on her life.

1727
01:07:06.530 --> 01:07:08.449
The Barber of East L.A.,

1728
01:07:08.450 --> 01:07:10.309
first produced in 2008

1729
01:07:10.310 --> 01:07:11.869
by the Queer Chicana Performance

1730
01:07:11.870 --> 01:07:14.029
Group, which is a line

1731
01:07:14.030 --> 01:07:16.909
that I co-founded in 2002.

1732
01:07:16.910 --> 01:07:18.739
The play is about butch dikes

1733
01:07:18.740 --> 01:07:20.479
surviving the hardest parts of the

1734
01:07:20.480 --> 01:07:22.399
mid 20th century,

1735
01:07:22.400 --> 01:07:24.049
and the nascent trans masculine

1736
01:07:24.050 --> 01:07:25.939
arrival that awaits us in the next

1737
01:07:25.940 --> 01:07:27.379
century.

1738
01:07:27.380 --> 01:07:29.209
I sit and listen to her narrate

1739
01:07:29.210 --> 01:07:31.340
her experience in the daddy tank.

1740
01:07:32.780 --> 01:07:34.519
The notorious holding cell for

1741
01:07:34.520 --> 01:07:36.469
masculine assigned female at birth

1742
01:07:36.470 --> 01:07:38.509
apes at the Sybil Brand

1743
01:07:38.510 --> 01:07:40.639
Institute for women,

1744
01:07:40.640 --> 01:07:42.529
a correctional facility run by

1745
01:07:42.530 --> 01:07:44.809
the county sheriff in Monterey Park

1746
01:07:44.810 --> 01:07:47.239
outside Los Angeles.

1747
01:07:47.240 --> 01:07:49.009
Barbara is proud of the ways she

1748
01:07:49.010 --> 01:07:50.539
defended herself against other

1749
01:07:50.540 --> 01:07:52.519
prisoners who had picked on her

1750
01:07:52.520 --> 01:07:55.279
and saw her as competition

1751
01:07:55.280 --> 01:07:56.869
for the jail's limited femme

1752
01:07:56.870 --> 01:07:58.579
partners.

1753
01:07:58.580 --> 01:08:01.849
But Valverde had bigger problems.

1754
01:08:01.850 --> 01:08:03.799
Sybil brand was considered a model

1755
01:08:03.800 --> 01:08:05.959
prison, with five sections

1756
01:08:05.960 --> 01:08:08.449
maximum security, minimum

1757
01:08:08.450 --> 01:08:10.279
security,

1758
01:08:10.280 --> 01:08:12.319
mental observation,

1759
01:08:12.320 --> 01:08:14.329
lockup, and the Daddy

1760
01:08:14.330 --> 01:08:15.330
Tank.

1761
01:08:16.380 --> 01:08:18.209
The late Jean Cordova, in an

1762
01:08:18.210 --> 01:08:20.369
issue of The Lesbian Tie, described

1763
01:08:20.370 --> 01:08:22.409
the Dirty Tank as the worst section

1764
01:08:22.410 --> 01:08:24.358
as it was maximum security for

1765
01:08:24.359 --> 01:08:26.159
lesbians, where prisoners were given

1766
01:08:26.160 --> 01:08:28.289
the filthiest jobs

1767
01:08:28.290 --> 01:08:30.389
and made and were made examples of.

1768
01:08:31.470 --> 01:08:33.989
On Father's Day 1974,

1769
01:08:33.990 --> 01:08:36.329
lesbians of Cordova's ilk

1770
01:08:36.330 --> 01:08:38.339
protested the existence of the Daddy

1771
01:08:38.340 --> 01:08:39.568
Tank.

1772
01:08:39.569 --> 01:08:42.028
It would take damage from the 1994

1773
01:08:42.029 --> 01:08:44.159
Northridge earthquake to eventually

1774
01:08:44.160 --> 01:08:46.889
close the prison in 1997.

1775
01:08:46.890 --> 01:08:47.890
Frigate.

1776
01:08:49.800 --> 01:08:51.629
Valverde's main jail bull offense

1777
01:08:51.630 --> 01:08:54.059
was masquerading

1778
01:08:54.060 --> 01:08:56.009
in clothes not

1779
01:08:56.010 --> 01:08:58.049
of her sex,

1780
01:08:58.050 --> 01:08:59.489
a law that had been on the

1781
01:08:59.490 --> 01:09:01.318
California books since the Gold Rush

1782
01:09:01.319 --> 01:09:02.879
and was intended to allow for the

1783
01:09:02.880 --> 01:09:04.978
harassment of those deemed deviant

1784
01:09:04.979 --> 01:09:06.929
or gender bending.

1785
01:09:06.930 --> 01:09:08.789
After conducting her own research

1786
01:09:08.790 --> 01:09:10.169
at the Los Angeles County Law

1787
01:09:10.170 --> 01:09:12.028
Library in 1951,

1788
01:09:12.029 --> 01:09:13.949
but day was able to provide legal

1789
01:09:13.950 --> 01:09:15.539
criteria to end her ongoing

1790
01:09:15.540 --> 01:09:17.159
harassment and arrest.

1791
01:09:17.160 --> 01:09:18.778
Though masquerading laws in Los

1792
01:09:18.779 --> 01:09:19.949
Angeles would continue to be

1793
01:09:19.950 --> 01:09:21.930
enforced into the 1960s.

1794
01:09:23.430 --> 01:09:25.079
Through all this while, where they

1795
01:09:25.080 --> 01:09:26.519
remained a popular member of our

1796
01:09:26.520 --> 01:09:28.169
community in both Lincoln and Boyle

1797
01:09:28.170 --> 01:09:29.339
Heights.

1798
01:09:29.340 --> 01:09:31.469
After receiving her diploma

1799
01:09:31.470 --> 01:09:33.059
from the Molar Barbara College in

1800
01:09:33.060 --> 01:09:35.369
downtown Los Angeles, she became

1801
01:09:35.370 --> 01:09:37.199
a taxpaying citizen on the straight

1802
01:09:37.200 --> 01:09:39.478
and narrow path, bill.

1803
01:09:41.609 --> 01:09:42.609
Said

1804
01:09:43.979 --> 01:09:45.749
she opened a barber shop on the old

1805
01:09:45.750 --> 01:09:47.549
Brooklyn Avenue corridor during the

1806
01:09:47.550 --> 01:09:48.959
1950s.

1807
01:09:48.960 --> 01:09:50.669
It was where she quietly established

1808
01:09:50.670 --> 01:09:52.829
a reputation as a business person,

1809
01:09:52.830 --> 01:09:54.329
a bitch, a few words.

1810
01:09:56.430 --> 01:09:58.379
But with a presence that commanded

1811
01:09:58.380 --> 01:09:59.380
respect.

1812
01:10:00.180 --> 01:10:01.709
The neighborhood itself was changing

1813
01:10:01.710 --> 01:10:04.499
with the times to Charlie

1814
01:10:04.500 --> 01:10:05.849
as well, where that tells me, was

1815
01:10:05.850 --> 01:10:06.959
the owner of the bar that would

1816
01:10:06.960 --> 01:10:08.849
eventually become Reds,

1817
01:10:08.850 --> 01:10:10.259
where she would grab a beer between

1818
01:10:10.260 --> 01:10:11.609
shifts.

1819
01:10:11.610 --> 01:10:13.379
She remembers hitting the hit,

1820
01:10:13.380 --> 01:10:15.299
hitting the head in the small

1821
01:10:15.300 --> 01:10:17.249
bar, and coming out to find the bar

1822
01:10:17.250 --> 01:10:18.479
owner standing in front of the

1823
01:10:18.480 --> 01:10:20.579
bathroom door with his own arms

1824
01:10:20.580 --> 01:10:23.249
folded firmly across his chest.

1825
01:10:23.250 --> 01:10:24.839
But they never forgot that gesture

1826
01:10:24.840 --> 01:10:26.549
of solidarity.

1827
01:10:26.550 --> 01:10:27.550
And neither should you.

1828
01:10:38.710 --> 01:10:39.729
That was incredible.

1829
01:10:39.730 --> 01:10:40.749
Thank you.

1830
01:10:40.750 --> 01:10:42.699
Well, I'm so excited to chat.

1831
01:10:42.700 --> 01:10:43.209
Likewise.

1832
01:10:43.210 --> 01:10:45.250
I think that, like, what really

1833
01:10:46.690 --> 01:10:48.849
excites me is that Nancy

1834
01:10:48.850 --> 01:10:50.919
is someone you spent time with,

1835
01:10:50.920 --> 01:10:52.869
and she's an elder who is

1836
01:10:52.870 --> 01:10:53.979
still around.

1837
01:10:53.980 --> 01:10:55.749
Yes. And who influenced your work?

1838
01:10:55.750 --> 01:10:57.609
And I wonder if during your

1839
01:10:57.610 --> 01:10:59.379
time with Nancy, did conversation

1840
01:10:59.380 --> 01:11:01.269
ever shift or

1841
01:11:01.270 --> 01:11:03.819
touch on the trans visibility

1842
01:11:03.820 --> 01:11:06.609
that we are experiencing

1843
01:11:06.610 --> 01:11:08.559
in the media or in,

1844
01:11:08.560 --> 01:11:10.479
you know, in the youth of

1845
01:11:10.480 --> 01:11:10.989
today?

1846
01:11:10.990 --> 01:11:11.990
Sure.

1847
01:11:12.730 --> 01:11:13.899
Thank you.

1848
01:11:13.900 --> 01:11:14.769
Amos. Yeah. It's amazing.

1849
01:11:14.770 --> 01:11:15.969
Me in conversation here.

1850
01:11:15.970 --> 01:11:17.979
And so, as

1851
01:11:17.980 --> 01:11:20.379
far as I know, I haven't,

1852
01:11:20.380 --> 01:11:22.239
gotten any wind of, Nancy

1853
01:11:22.240 --> 01:11:23.240
well aware days.

1854
01:11:24.610 --> 01:11:25.659
You know, in the sense that I

1855
01:11:25.660 --> 01:11:27.369
haven't gotten a notice of her

1856
01:11:27.370 --> 01:11:29.259
passing in the sense that she's,

1857
01:11:29.260 --> 01:11:31.629
well, far advanced in age

1858
01:11:31.630 --> 01:11:34.209
and is also someone to consider,

1859
01:11:34.210 --> 01:11:35.529
just someone who's lived a

1860
01:11:35.530 --> 01:11:37.329
significant portion of her life in

1861
01:11:37.330 --> 01:11:39.699
the 20th century and still continues

1862
01:11:39.700 --> 01:11:41.709
to persist and, and,

1863
01:11:41.710 --> 01:11:42.909
make impressions upon,

1864
01:11:44.860 --> 01:11:47.139
our generation and

1865
01:11:47.140 --> 01:11:49.299
ideally generations after us

1866
01:11:49.300 --> 01:11:50.499
in the 21st century.

1867
01:11:50.500 --> 01:11:52.329
So, when I spoke with

1868
01:11:52.330 --> 01:11:54.579
her, I spent, a few hours

1869
01:11:54.580 --> 01:11:55.580
in her,

1870
01:11:56.710 --> 01:11:58.899
in her small apartment in Montebello

1871
01:11:58.900 --> 01:12:01.179
and again in her,

1872
01:12:01.180 --> 01:12:03.489
elder, housing apartment

1873
01:12:03.490 --> 01:12:05.859
on, in Hollywood.

1874
01:12:05.860 --> 01:12:08.019
And I think

1875
01:12:08.020 --> 01:12:09.969
more than anything, it was a

1876
01:12:09.970 --> 01:12:11.799
way to just, travel through

1877
01:12:11.800 --> 01:12:13.809
time, through her and

1878
01:12:13.810 --> 01:12:15.819
to think about, just

1879
01:12:15.820 --> 01:12:18.249
the way that her

1880
01:12:18.250 --> 01:12:19.989
identity has always been this,

1881
01:12:19.990 --> 01:12:21.549
interesting, fraught, a lightning

1882
01:12:21.550 --> 01:12:23.589
rod, antenna,

1883
01:12:23.590 --> 01:12:24.590
a,

1884
01:12:25.690 --> 01:12:27.579
a lighthouse.

1885
01:12:27.580 --> 01:12:28.580
Just,

1886
01:12:30.130 --> 01:12:32.019
a bully out to sea in

1887
01:12:32.020 --> 01:12:33.999
in times when you're just

1888
01:12:34.000 --> 01:12:35.649
not sure where you where you came

1889
01:12:35.650 --> 01:12:36.609
from, where you come from.

1890
01:12:36.610 --> 01:12:39.609
And so for me, to understand,

1891
01:12:39.610 --> 01:12:41.949
her trajectory is really important.

1892
01:12:41.950 --> 01:12:43.539
Was really important.

1893
01:12:43.540 --> 01:12:45.279
And in terms of just thinking about,

1894
01:12:45.280 --> 01:12:47.229
I think it really it

1895
01:12:47.230 --> 01:12:49.269
tickled her to think about people

1896
01:12:49.270 --> 01:12:51.669
curious about her experiences

1897
01:12:51.670 --> 01:12:52.989
and also,

1898
01:12:54.340 --> 01:12:56.529
softened her because anyone

1899
01:12:56.530 --> 01:12:57.530
who who,

1900
01:12:59.020 --> 01:13:00.699
endured and survived the experiences

1901
01:13:00.700 --> 01:13:02.169
that she had, I think would have

1902
01:13:02.170 --> 01:13:03.170
been.

1903
01:13:05.890 --> 01:13:07.839
Hardened and

1904
01:13:07.840 --> 01:13:08.829
closed off and shut off.

1905
01:13:08.830 --> 01:13:11.439
But, those experiences,

1906
01:13:11.440 --> 01:13:13.269
gave way to wanting to

1907
01:13:13.270 --> 01:13:15.339
connect and, and

1908
01:13:15.340 --> 01:13:17.439
speak to power to to what she

1909
01:13:17.440 --> 01:13:19.419
survived in terms of just

1910
01:13:19.420 --> 01:13:20.710
the, visibility.

1911
01:13:23.050 --> 01:13:25.029
I don't know. I think she she

1912
01:13:25.030 --> 01:13:27.009
was, touched

1913
01:13:27.010 --> 01:13:28.689
and, enjoyed seeing the Barbara

1914
01:13:28.690 --> 01:13:29.829
raised. Elaine was really moved.

1915
01:13:29.830 --> 01:13:32.379
She she came to our USC,

1916
01:13:32.380 --> 01:13:34.209
presentation of it in

1917
01:13:34.210 --> 01:13:35.349
2000.

1918
01:13:35.350 --> 01:13:37.519
I want to say 6 or

1919
01:13:37.520 --> 01:13:38.349
7.

1920
01:13:38.350 --> 01:13:40.059
It was before the.

1921
01:13:40.060 --> 01:13:41.949
The mortgage crisis.

1922
01:13:41.950 --> 01:13:43.869
Because I feel like I was in and

1923
01:13:43.870 --> 01:13:45.099
I was in good spirits before then,

1924
01:13:45.100 --> 01:13:46.100
so.

1925
01:13:49.780 --> 01:13:51.489
But in terms of just, you know,

1926
01:13:51.490 --> 01:13:53.379
someone who's impressed upon

1927
01:13:53.380 --> 01:13:55.419
myself and yourself

1928
01:13:55.420 --> 01:13:57.429
and, and just thinking

1929
01:13:57.430 --> 01:13:58.430
back to,

1930
01:13:59.470 --> 01:14:01.329
you know, from the elder to to

1931
01:14:01.330 --> 01:14:03.339
the ancestor and, thinking

1932
01:14:03.340 --> 01:14:05.289
about the life of, of Billy

1933
01:14:05.290 --> 01:14:08.109
Tipton and how his story

1934
01:14:08.110 --> 01:14:10.059
has, curious, you know,

1935
01:14:10.060 --> 01:14:12.789
for you to see more about how,

1936
01:14:12.790 --> 01:14:14.409
Tipton story has contoured your

1937
01:14:14.410 --> 01:14:17.049
thinking about,

1938
01:14:17.050 --> 01:14:18.969
what it means to represent

1939
01:14:18.970 --> 01:14:21.219
trans life, as a writer

1940
01:14:21.220 --> 01:14:24.309
on the page, on the screen.

1941
01:14:24.310 --> 01:14:25.719
And what's interesting about Billy

1942
01:14:25.720 --> 01:14:28.119
is that we don't

1943
01:14:28.120 --> 01:14:30.189
know, nor do we, you know,

1944
01:14:30.190 --> 01:14:31.329
there's no confirmation that he

1945
01:14:31.330 --> 01:14:32.679
would ever want to be talked about

1946
01:14:32.680 --> 01:14:34.659
in this setting as a trans

1947
01:14:34.660 --> 01:14:35.660
person.

1948
01:14:36.610 --> 01:14:39.189
That is the the sticky,

1949
01:14:39.190 --> 01:14:42.039
you know, the truth around

1950
01:14:42.040 --> 01:14:43.299
his identity.

1951
01:14:43.300 --> 01:14:44.799
The best that we could tell from

1952
01:14:44.800 --> 01:14:46.389
talking to his family members,

1953
01:14:46.390 --> 01:14:48.459
talking to his, his

1954
01:14:48.460 --> 01:14:50.409
exes and his bandmates

1955
01:14:50.410 --> 01:14:52.569
that he was happy

1956
01:14:52.570 --> 01:14:54.699
being like, living authentically

1957
01:14:54.700 --> 01:14:57.039
as a gigging

1958
01:14:57.040 --> 01:14:59.049
jazz musician and a dad and

1959
01:14:59.050 --> 01:15:00.909
a husband. And that he.

1960
01:15:02.310 --> 01:15:03.839
Not sure how he would feel about

1961
01:15:03.840 --> 01:15:05.639
being, you know, talked about and

1962
01:15:05.640 --> 01:15:07.229
that's it's part of

1963
01:15:08.610 --> 01:15:10.589
it feels complicated.

1964
01:15:10.590 --> 01:15:13.409
But also he's someone that

1965
01:15:13.410 --> 01:15:15.149
many people have looked to and

1966
01:15:15.150 --> 01:15:17.099
they've seen glimpses of themselves

1967
01:15:17.100 --> 01:15:18.100
and they've seen like.

1968
01:15:19.050 --> 01:15:20.669
This. This person was was here

1969
01:15:20.670 --> 01:15:22.229
before me. Whether or not like the

1970
01:15:22.230 --> 01:15:24.089
identity or the the language

1971
01:15:24.090 --> 01:15:25.439
around the identity matches up.

1972
01:15:25.440 --> 01:15:27.419
It's still it's an experience.

1973
01:15:27.420 --> 01:15:28.859
And how do you think how does that

1974
01:15:28.860 --> 01:15:31.259
inform your,

1975
01:15:31.260 --> 01:15:33.299
approach to representing, Tipton's

1976
01:15:33.300 --> 01:15:34.300
life.

1977
01:15:35.460 --> 01:15:36.539
Going into it with,

1978
01:15:37.590 --> 01:15:39.779
well, having the answers, and

1979
01:15:39.780 --> 01:15:41.819
having the idea that

1980
01:15:41.820 --> 01:15:42.820
his

1981
01:15:43.890 --> 01:15:45.089
we don't have like, we don't have

1982
01:15:45.090 --> 01:15:46.349
the same experience.

1983
01:15:46.350 --> 01:15:48.330
We just don't and I'll never know.

1984
01:15:49.410 --> 01:15:51.329
And, yeah, there's this

1985
01:15:51.330 --> 01:15:52.799
mist. There's a mystery for sure.

1986
01:15:52.800 --> 01:15:55.289
So I have to to honor that.

1987
01:15:55.290 --> 01:15:56.290
And.

1988
01:15:57.080 --> 01:15:58.220
Yeah. Yeah. For sure.

1989
01:15:59.390 --> 01:16:01.429
Amos and I have talked about, this

1990
01:16:01.430 --> 01:16:02.539
moment in our own,

1991
01:16:04.850 --> 01:16:06.499
I guess creative life and creative

1992
01:16:06.500 --> 01:16:07.729
adulthood in queer adulthood and

1993
01:16:07.730 --> 01:16:09.829
trans adulthood in the sense of,

1994
01:16:09.830 --> 01:16:11.030
where our,

1995
01:16:12.500 --> 01:16:14.269
where we occupy in the, in the

1996
01:16:14.270 --> 01:16:17.019
space, in the spectrum of,

1997
01:16:17.020 --> 01:16:18.829
of the elder and the ancestor

1998
01:16:18.830 --> 01:16:20.419
thinking about our relationships to

1999
01:16:20.420 --> 01:16:22.459
the elder into the ancestor.

2000
01:16:22.460 --> 01:16:24.439
For myself, the elder is, is

2001
01:16:24.440 --> 01:16:26.509
still with us, and,

2002
01:16:26.510 --> 01:16:28.579
and also the elder is is someone

2003
01:16:28.580 --> 01:16:30.919
that I am very, you know, slow

2004
01:16:30.920 --> 01:16:32.809
to occupy that, that

2005
01:16:32.810 --> 01:16:33.810
that positionality.

2006
01:16:35.630 --> 01:16:37.159
Sometimes we're just given the title

2007
01:16:37.160 --> 01:16:38.989
elder after we turn

2008
01:16:38.990 --> 01:16:40.040
40, and that's fine

2009
01:16:41.090 --> 01:16:41.929
for sure.

2010
01:16:41.930 --> 01:16:43.729
For sure. And so and but also think

2011
01:16:43.730 --> 01:16:45.229
about the, the trajectory between

2012
01:16:45.230 --> 01:16:47.419
the elder and the and the ancestor.

2013
01:16:48.860 --> 01:16:50.149
I don't know if you've, if, if

2014
01:16:50.150 --> 01:16:51.799
you've thought more about just, your

2015
01:16:51.800 --> 01:16:53.929
relationship to, to both concepts

2016
01:16:53.930 --> 01:16:54.930
and, and.

2017
01:16:56.270 --> 01:16:57.379
I mean, I remember thinking of

2018
01:16:57.380 --> 01:16:59.389
people who, as trans elders,

2019
01:16:59.390 --> 01:17:01.309
like ten, 20 years ago

2020
01:17:01.310 --> 01:17:03.349
and thinking of, you know, Jamison

2021
01:17:03.350 --> 01:17:05.869
Green and, and Lou Sullivan,

2022
01:17:05.870 --> 01:17:07.729
who, you know, who is, an

2023
01:17:07.730 --> 01:17:09.799
ancestor at that time and longer

2024
01:17:09.800 --> 01:17:12.619
living and, just

2025
01:17:12.620 --> 01:17:14.180
the ways that we can.

2026
01:17:15.270 --> 01:17:17.129
Just the ways that the objects

2027
01:17:17.130 --> 01:17:18.569
like going back to the book, how

2028
01:17:18.570 --> 01:17:20.279
these things are still living with

2029
01:17:20.280 --> 01:17:22.349
us and passing them down, like

2030
01:17:22.350 --> 01:17:23.309
through. When you think about, like

2031
01:17:23.310 --> 01:17:25.049
the Luke Sullivan papers, the

2032
01:17:25.050 --> 01:17:27.029
diaries, the the FTM

2033
01:17:27.030 --> 01:17:28.649
international newsletters, like

2034
01:17:28.650 --> 01:17:30.779
those items are

2035
01:17:30.780 --> 01:17:32.999
how I, connect

2036
01:17:33.000 --> 01:17:35.489
with and with trans ancestors.

2037
01:17:35.490 --> 01:17:36.490
How about you?

2038
01:17:37.500 --> 01:17:38.729
Well, similarly to you and I think

2039
01:17:38.730 --> 01:17:40.619
objects, sort of gives a way

2040
01:17:40.620 --> 01:17:42.689
to, take

2041
01:17:42.690 --> 01:17:44.489
the pressure off of the,

2042
01:17:47.000 --> 01:17:48.929
the intense scrutiny that we often

2043
01:17:48.930 --> 01:17:51.749
can't help but to,

2044
01:17:51.750 --> 01:17:53.759
project onto,

2045
01:17:53.760 --> 01:17:55.889
figures like both, like, Valverde

2046
01:17:55.890 --> 01:17:58.019
and Tipton in the sense that they

2047
01:17:58.020 --> 01:17:59.849
are, doing a lot of

2048
01:17:59.850 --> 01:18:01.649
work. That a lot of work in.

2049
01:18:03.900 --> 01:18:05.789
Being visible and remaining

2050
01:18:05.790 --> 01:18:08.129
visible for our sake.

2051
01:18:08.130 --> 01:18:09.809
And so I think the objects is a way

2052
01:18:09.810 --> 01:18:11.969
to sort of suffuse, the historical

2053
01:18:11.970 --> 01:18:13.969
context and also

2054
01:18:13.970 --> 01:18:15.119
a way to,

2055
01:18:17.940 --> 01:18:19.799
you know, generate think about sort

2056
01:18:19.800 --> 01:18:21.779
of these, more, joyful

2057
01:18:21.780 --> 01:18:23.550
moments or these moments of,

2058
01:18:25.170 --> 01:18:26.849
like thinking about Val Verde as

2059
01:18:26.850 --> 01:18:28.139
barber chair.

2060
01:18:28.140 --> 01:18:30.659
It's an object of,

2061
01:18:30.660 --> 01:18:32.759
it's a point of contact, and

2062
01:18:32.760 --> 01:18:34.469
it's a point of contact around

2063
01:18:34.470 --> 01:18:36.029
labor, but it's a type of labor

2064
01:18:36.030 --> 01:18:37.859
that's very intimate, and it's

2065
01:18:37.860 --> 01:18:39.749
an intimacy that happens in the

2066
01:18:39.750 --> 01:18:41.879
context of a neighborhood and

2067
01:18:41.880 --> 01:18:43.019
the context of a neighborhood that's

2068
01:18:43.020 --> 01:18:44.789
changing in a context of a

2069
01:18:44.790 --> 01:18:46.199
neighborhood that's going from

2070
01:18:46.200 --> 01:18:48.179
Brooklyn Avenue to Cesar

2071
01:18:48.180 --> 01:18:50.549
Chavez Boulevard.

2072
01:18:50.550 --> 01:18:52.229
When I wrote that play, it was also

2073
01:18:52.230 --> 01:18:53.370
in the context of,

2074
01:18:55.050 --> 01:18:57.449
you know, the character based on,

2075
01:18:57.450 --> 01:18:59.519
Val Verde is now

2076
01:18:59.520 --> 01:19:01.559
the taxpaying citizen

2077
01:19:01.560 --> 01:19:03.629
who is, now

2078
01:19:03.630 --> 01:19:05.459
on the, you know, is, is

2079
01:19:05.460 --> 01:19:07.649
is legit, has gone legit

2080
01:19:07.650 --> 01:19:09.779
and is trying to,

2081
01:19:09.780 --> 01:19:11.729
is striving for recognition

2082
01:19:11.730 --> 01:19:14.429
and legibility as a respectable

2083
01:19:14.430 --> 01:19:16.709
subject. And so

2084
01:19:16.710 --> 01:19:18.179
and as this happened, as this is

2085
01:19:18.180 --> 01:19:20.589
happening, you know,

2086
01:19:20.590 --> 01:19:22.439
it's the it's 1980,

2087
01:19:22.440 --> 01:19:24.899
it's the dawn of the Reagan era,

2088
01:19:24.900 --> 01:19:27.089
and in that, neighborhood

2089
01:19:27.090 --> 01:19:29.339
in that block in Boyle Heights,

2090
01:19:29.340 --> 01:19:31.499
we're also seeing sort of the surge

2091
01:19:31.500 --> 01:19:33.449
in East Los Angeles in punk rock,

2092
01:19:33.450 --> 01:19:35.339
in punk rock, with, East Los

2093
01:19:35.340 --> 01:19:36.659
Angeles flavor.

2094
01:19:36.660 --> 01:19:38.549
We have, the long,

2095
01:19:38.550 --> 01:19:40.649
the long, established,

2096
01:19:41.730 --> 01:19:43.589
the long and incense now, but back

2097
01:19:43.590 --> 01:19:44.819
then it was newly established.

2098
01:19:44.820 --> 01:19:46.349
Self-Help graphics was a community

2099
01:19:46.350 --> 01:19:48.689
arts organization

2100
01:19:48.690 --> 01:19:51.149
on, on Gage and,

2101
01:19:51.150 --> 01:19:52.709
Brooklyn Avenue before it became

2102
01:19:52.710 --> 01:19:53.909
sunset Chavez.

2103
01:19:53.910 --> 01:19:55.979
And, Willie Aron,

2104
01:19:55.980 --> 01:19:58.199
who was, is an artist,

2105
01:19:58.200 --> 01:19:59.669
affiliated with so many different

2106
01:19:59.670 --> 01:20:01.259
art arts collectives.

2107
01:20:01.260 --> 01:20:03.569
And and Chewie below were organizing

2108
01:20:03.570 --> 01:20:05.599
punk shows at the

2109
01:20:05.600 --> 01:20:07.139
a venue became the Vex.

2110
01:20:07.140 --> 01:20:08.369
And so I'm imagining these

2111
01:20:08.370 --> 01:20:10.199
interactions between a book

2112
01:20:10.200 --> 01:20:11.879
that's striving for respectability

2113
01:20:11.880 --> 01:20:14.249
and to punk teenagers,

2114
01:20:14.250 --> 01:20:16.739
queer teenagers who are,

2115
01:20:16.740 --> 01:20:18.389
seeking their middle fingers in

2116
01:20:18.390 --> 01:20:19.619
every which way.

2117
01:20:19.620 --> 01:20:21.479
So, so imagining

2118
01:20:21.480 --> 01:20:23.399
these, these,

2119
01:20:23.400 --> 01:20:26.309
interactions, interventions

2120
01:20:26.310 --> 01:20:28.529
and, and,

2121
01:20:28.530 --> 01:20:29.879
and feeling like, you know, it's

2122
01:20:29.880 --> 01:20:31.379
it's a way to,

2123
01:20:32.880 --> 01:20:34.919
imagine joy and to sort of take

2124
01:20:34.920 --> 01:20:36.479
the, take the heat off of.

2125
01:20:39.540 --> 01:20:40.810
The structural violence.

2126
01:20:42.370 --> 01:20:43.539
I like a.

2127
01:20:45.130 --> 01:20:47.289
Want to have like a fanfic moment

2128
01:20:47.290 --> 01:20:49.149
of thinking of Billy Tipton

2129
01:20:49.150 --> 01:20:51.819
gigging through Los Angeles

2130
01:20:51.820 --> 01:20:53.799
and rolling up to get a haircut.

2131
01:20:53.800 --> 01:20:54.819
Yeah.

2132
01:20:54.820 --> 01:20:56.769
And like what that would

2133
01:20:56.770 --> 01:20:57.459
look like.

2134
01:20:57.460 --> 01:20:58.329
Oh, yeah. For them?

2135
01:20:58.330 --> 01:21:00.039
Yes. It's fan fiction.

2136
01:21:00.040 --> 01:21:01.960
Yeah, it's speculative fiction.

2137
01:21:03.310 --> 01:21:05.529
It is a speculative moment.

2138
01:21:05.530 --> 01:21:07.659
It's also an auto fiction

2139
01:21:07.660 --> 01:21:09.009
because these are real people.

2140
01:21:09.010 --> 01:21:10.929
Yeah. And so, what

2141
01:21:10.930 --> 01:21:12.849
does it mean for us to imagine

2142
01:21:12.850 --> 01:21:15.009
these real people having

2143
01:21:15.010 --> 01:21:16.010
these,

2144
01:21:17.470 --> 01:21:18.819
moments of recognition with one

2145
01:21:18.820 --> 01:21:19.209
another?

2146
01:21:19.210 --> 01:21:20.679
Exactly.

2147
01:21:20.680 --> 01:21:22.839
It's it's, something

2148
01:21:22.840 --> 01:21:24.219
I think about often with Billy.

2149
01:21:24.220 --> 01:21:25.539
And I think, you know, because there

2150
01:21:25.540 --> 01:21:27.069
is there's characters in and out of

2151
01:21:27.070 --> 01:21:29.379
this life that were trans mask,

2152
01:21:29.380 --> 01:21:30.380
you know, that are.

2153
01:21:31.220 --> 01:21:32.029
Not really.

2154
01:21:32.030 --> 01:21:33.349
There's not much information out

2155
01:21:33.350 --> 01:21:34.579
there about them, but it was obvious

2156
01:21:34.580 --> 01:21:36.199
that Billy was not alone.

2157
01:21:36.200 --> 01:21:39.079
But there was not a community.

2158
01:21:39.080 --> 01:21:41.119
And that's one thing that I think

2159
01:21:41.120 --> 01:21:42.649
was, you know, there was communities

2160
01:21:42.650 --> 01:21:43.789
in other places.

2161
01:21:43.790 --> 01:21:45.679
But yeah, I

2162
01:21:45.680 --> 01:21:48.529
think in the sense of just

2163
01:21:48.530 --> 01:21:50.509
community in the ancestral,

2164
01:21:50.510 --> 01:21:52.669
in the sort of elder,

2165
01:21:52.670 --> 01:21:55.219
context, while they may have,

2166
01:21:55.220 --> 01:21:57.379
not had community,

2167
01:21:57.380 --> 01:21:59.389
there is a, there is a point

2168
01:21:59.390 --> 01:22:01.759
with our by conversation with Nancy

2169
01:22:01.760 --> 01:22:03.109
that it felt very important to her

2170
01:22:03.110 --> 01:22:04.969
to be in contact with

2171
01:22:04.970 --> 01:22:06.499
different generations.

2172
01:22:06.500 --> 01:22:08.449
And, and I feel that's something

2173
01:22:08.450 --> 01:22:10.459
that I internalize in the sense

2174
01:22:10.460 --> 01:22:12.649
of being contact with,

2175
01:22:12.650 --> 01:22:14.779
other makers and artists and writers

2176
01:22:14.780 --> 01:22:16.789
and thinkers and

2177
01:22:16.790 --> 01:22:18.739
organizers of, different

2178
01:22:18.740 --> 01:22:20.269
generations. And I learn a lot.

2179
01:22:20.270 --> 01:22:22.639
And I think it's that's

2180
01:22:22.640 --> 01:22:23.839
that's the thing that keeps me

2181
01:22:23.840 --> 01:22:24.840
young.

2182
01:22:28.160 --> 01:22:29.269
Oh, I have.

2183
01:22:29.270 --> 01:22:29.869
Two minutes.

2184
01:22:29.870 --> 01:22:31.280
Oh. Two minutes. Okay, great.

2185
01:22:32.420 --> 01:22:33.769
We have a we have, we didn't

2186
01:22:33.770 --> 01:22:35.779
coordinate or, we did

2187
01:22:35.780 --> 01:22:37.040
meet and chatted,

2188
01:22:38.180 --> 01:22:40.039
over the phone and we talked about

2189
01:22:40.040 --> 01:22:40.909
questions and things.

2190
01:22:40.910 --> 01:22:41.869
But this.

2191
01:22:41.870 --> 01:22:42.739
The red.

2192
01:22:42.740 --> 01:22:45.109
This was this was just.

2193
01:22:45.110 --> 01:22:46.099
It was kismet.

2194
01:22:46.100 --> 01:22:47.100
Yeah.

2195
01:22:47.930 --> 01:22:49.969
I have I wonder, like,

2196
01:22:49.970 --> 01:22:51.559
about, like, the idea of language

2197
01:22:51.560 --> 01:22:53.359
and how it's shifting constantly

2198
01:22:53.360 --> 01:22:55.729
around trans and gender experiences

2199
01:22:55.730 --> 01:22:57.709
and how can we best

2200
01:22:57.710 --> 01:23:00.709
bridge the gap or

2201
01:23:00.710 --> 01:23:02.629
respectfully honor our

2202
01:23:02.630 --> 01:23:04.759
ancestors and our living elders

2203
01:23:04.760 --> 01:23:05.760
without erasure?

2204
01:23:07.130 --> 01:23:08.719
Yeah, I think you said it in the

2205
01:23:08.720 --> 01:23:10.519
sense language is very important.

2206
01:23:10.520 --> 01:23:12.349
And also, I think we have to move

2207
01:23:12.350 --> 01:23:14.749
away from the burden of legibility

2208
01:23:14.750 --> 01:23:16.579
and the burden of, of

2209
01:23:16.580 --> 01:23:18.709
being seen and honoring

2210
01:23:18.710 --> 01:23:20.569
the continuities or

2211
01:23:20.570 --> 01:23:21.829
seeing it in the sense that there's

2212
01:23:21.830 --> 01:23:24.049
that moment when Chris presented

2213
01:23:24.050 --> 01:23:25.909
the ideal bathroom structure for,

2214
01:23:25.910 --> 01:23:28.189
for the, for the MOTHA museum.

2215
01:23:28.190 --> 01:23:30.229
And, so generally, I

2216
01:23:30.230 --> 01:23:31.340
like the idea of,

2217
01:23:32.570 --> 01:23:33.570
of.

2218
01:23:34.520 --> 01:23:36.619
Well, yes, the A spectrum.

2219
01:23:36.620 --> 01:23:38.659
But also I also like to be

2220
01:23:38.660 --> 01:23:40.279
thinking through binaries because

2221
01:23:40.280 --> 01:23:42.649
binaries help us understand

2222
01:23:42.650 --> 01:23:44.059
power.

2223
01:23:44.060 --> 01:23:46.039
And so

2224
01:23:46.040 --> 01:23:47.809
I think language is just a way to,

2225
01:23:47.810 --> 01:23:50.689
to, to remain

2226
01:23:50.690 --> 01:23:52.039
porous.

2227
01:23:52.040 --> 01:23:54.109
And it's a way to also strive

2228
01:23:54.110 --> 01:23:55.110
for,

2229
01:23:55.950 --> 01:23:58.309
from conceptual promiscuity

2230
01:23:58.310 --> 01:23:59.479
is in genre.

2231
01:23:59.480 --> 01:24:01.429
Promiscuity is in the sense,

2232
01:24:01.430 --> 01:24:03.379
you know, you went for fanfiction.

2233
01:24:03.380 --> 01:24:04.849
I went for like, the speculative

2234
01:24:04.850 --> 01:24:06.289
impulse.

2235
01:24:06.290 --> 01:24:08.629
But it's about giving ourselves,

2236
01:24:08.630 --> 01:24:10.519
not just permission, but giving

2237
01:24:10.520 --> 01:24:11.989
ourselves grace and giving each

2238
01:24:11.990 --> 01:24:13.549
other grace.

2239
01:24:13.550 --> 01:24:14.419
So I love it.

2240
01:24:14.420 --> 01:24:15.769
Yeah. Cool.

2241
01:24:15.770 --> 01:24:16.849
How are we doing?

2242
01:24:16.850 --> 01:24:17.959
We don't mean native.

2243
01:24:17.960 --> 01:24:19.009
And so.

2244
01:24:19.010 --> 01:24:20.599
And I just want to hear more about

2245
01:24:20.600 --> 01:24:21.829
just your.

2246
01:24:21.830 --> 01:24:22.729
Because I know you.

2247
01:24:22.730 --> 01:24:24.559
When I came to your work as an

2248
01:24:24.560 --> 01:24:26.389
incredible photographer, and

2249
01:24:26.390 --> 01:24:27.799
I know that you've always had.

2250
01:24:27.800 --> 01:24:29.269
I mean, I can't imagine what your

2251
01:24:29.270 --> 01:24:30.889
house looks like. I'm sure it's just

2252
01:24:30.890 --> 01:24:32.869
like boxes and piles and things

2253
01:24:32.870 --> 01:24:33.649
of, like.

2254
01:24:33.650 --> 01:24:35.479
I keep my piles in my own office.

2255
01:24:37.070 --> 01:24:38.059
But. Yeah, but. Yeah, if you could

2256
01:24:38.060 --> 01:24:39.829
speak more to. Just like what Tipton

2257
01:24:39.830 --> 01:24:42.289
has opened up for your archival

2258
01:24:42.290 --> 01:24:43.429
understanding of, of trans

2259
01:24:43.430 --> 01:24:44.059
representation.

2260
01:24:44.060 --> 01:24:45.379
I mean, one thing that the Tipton

2261
01:24:45.380 --> 01:24:47.599
experience has, has,

2262
01:24:47.600 --> 01:24:50.359
led me to is collecting

2263
01:24:50.360 --> 01:24:52.339
trans history, in the visual

2264
01:24:52.340 --> 01:24:54.139
form through photographs and looking

2265
01:24:54.140 --> 01:24:56.349
for photos from, like, the 1900 to

2266
01:24:56.350 --> 01:24:57.529
19 80s.

2267
01:24:57.530 --> 01:24:58.909
And that's something that has been

2268
01:24:58.910 --> 01:25:00.739
like my

2269
01:25:00.740 --> 01:25:02.389
secret. And it's not secret anymore.

2270
01:25:02.390 --> 01:25:03.560
Passion. And my,

2271
01:25:04.940 --> 01:25:06.589
just the way that I'm connecting

2272
01:25:06.590 --> 01:25:08.369
with the past and whether and the

2273
01:25:08.370 --> 01:25:10.159
net, the language trans is not like

2274
01:25:10.160 --> 01:25:11.629
in the photographs, obviously, but

2275
01:25:11.630 --> 01:25:13.459
it's like, it's

2276
01:25:13.460 --> 01:25:13.879
there.

2277
01:25:13.880 --> 01:25:14.779
I'd love to see them.

2278
01:25:14.780 --> 01:25:15.949
I'm sure people would love to see

2279
01:25:15.950 --> 01:25:17.269
them. And I hope that you're able to

2280
01:25:17.270 --> 01:25:18.619
curate them into I would love to

2281
01:25:18.620 --> 01:25:20.569
another trans object I think.

2282
01:25:20.570 --> 01:25:22.069
So, yeah. I mean, all these objects

2283
01:25:22.070 --> 01:25:23.509
just living together just mean to

2284
01:25:23.510 --> 01:25:23.899
be.

2285
01:25:23.900 --> 01:25:24.769
It's shown. Yeah.

2286
01:25:24.770 --> 01:25:27.469
The afterlife of a trans

2287
01:25:27.470 --> 01:25:29.329
life. Yeah, yeah.

2288
01:25:29.330 --> 01:25:30.319
Awesome. Thanks everyone.

2289
01:25:30.320 --> 01:25:31.279
Thank you. All right. Thanks,

2290
01:25:31.280 --> 01:25:32.280
everybody.

2291
01:25:53.700 --> 01:25:54.700
Found it.

2292
01:25:57.570 --> 01:25:58.439
Hello, everyone.

2293
01:25:58.440 --> 01:25:59.249
Thank you.

2294
01:25:59.250 --> 01:26:00.839
This is the thank you portion of the

2295
01:26:00.840 --> 01:26:01.840
evening.

2296
01:26:02.460 --> 01:26:04.109
Thank you all for coming out.

2297
01:26:04.110 --> 01:26:05.729
Thank you.

2298
01:26:05.730 --> 01:26:06.750
Every single one of you.

2299
01:26:08.610 --> 01:26:09.659
Thank you.

2300
01:26:09.660 --> 01:26:10.469
Thank you. Christina.

2301
01:26:10.470 --> 01:26:11.249
Thank you. David.

2302
01:26:11.250 --> 01:26:12.779
We couldn't have done this

2303
01:26:12.780 --> 01:26:13.780
separately

2304
01:26:15.270 --> 01:26:16.139
for sure.

2305
01:26:16.140 --> 01:26:18.119
175 contributors

2306
01:26:18.120 --> 01:26:18.929
is a lot.

2307
01:26:18.930 --> 01:26:20.729
And over the last couple of years,

2308
01:26:20.730 --> 01:26:23.339
we've been oppressed by it.

2309
01:26:23.340 --> 01:26:25.319
But, no

2310
01:26:25.320 --> 01:26:26.320
fights.

2311
01:26:27.270 --> 01:26:28.769
We we got along really well.

2312
01:26:28.770 --> 01:26:30.389
Just not.

2313
01:26:30.390 --> 01:26:31.560
I'm not faking it.

2314
01:26:33.840 --> 01:26:35.549
And there's also, I mean, thank you

2315
01:26:35.550 --> 01:26:37.469
to all the contributors who

2316
01:26:37.470 --> 01:26:39.779
we had on stage this evening,

2317
01:26:39.780 --> 01:26:42.509
Eri, Raquel M.o, Zackary

2318
01:26:42.510 --> 01:26:43.510
Edgar,

2319
01:26:45.030 --> 01:26:47.220
myself also,

2320
01:26:48.240 --> 01:26:49.469
the people in the audience, there's

2321
01:26:49.470 --> 01:26:51.179
a number of contributors that I know

2322
01:26:51.180 --> 01:26:52.259
are here.

2323
01:26:52.260 --> 01:26:54.119
Mo for example, if you can

2324
01:26:54.120 --> 01:26:56.429
stand up, can we give you

2325
01:26:56.430 --> 01:26:57.209
Brontes?

2326
01:26:57.210 --> 01:26:59.429
I saw you in the audience

2327
01:26:59.430 --> 01:27:01.170
who wrote about Virginia Davis.

2328
01:27:02.220 --> 01:27:03.689
Mo wrote about Murray Hill.

2329
01:27:03.690 --> 01:27:06.329
Dante, facilitated

2330
01:27:06.330 --> 01:27:08.429
the connection with

2331
01:27:08.430 --> 01:27:10.889
Connie Norman important,

2332
01:27:10.890 --> 01:27:13.709
an Aids activist, and Java.

2333
01:27:13.710 --> 01:27:15.239
John. Oh, and John Dante and John.

2334
01:27:15.240 --> 01:27:16.619
Thank you.

2335
01:27:16.620 --> 01:27:18.509
Who else? Any contributors that we

2336
01:27:18.510 --> 01:27:19.079
didn't.

2337
01:27:19.080 --> 01:27:19.589
Hear.

2338
01:27:19.590 --> 01:27:20.590
Me.

2339
01:27:21.700 --> 01:27:22.869
Thank you.

2340
01:27:22.870 --> 01:27:24.279
Are you there? Are you there?

2341
01:27:24.280 --> 01:27:25.479
Hello? Marcel.

2342
01:27:25.480 --> 01:27:26.529
Marcel.

2343
01:27:26.530 --> 01:27:27.969
Part of a reset. Did a number of

2344
01:27:27.970 --> 01:27:29.979
photography, photographs

2345
01:27:29.980 --> 01:27:31.419
for the book.

2346
01:27:31.420 --> 01:27:33.369
In activating a

2347
01:27:33.370 --> 01:27:35.109
number of archival objects and

2348
01:27:35.110 --> 01:27:36.970
artworks and

2349
01:27:38.050 --> 01:27:39.469
and so many friends are here.

2350
01:27:39.470 --> 01:27:40.869
Thank you for coming out and helping

2351
01:27:40.870 --> 01:27:43.059
celebrate and honoring this really

2352
01:27:43.060 --> 01:27:45.369
major labor of love

2353
01:27:46.600 --> 01:27:47.379
front. Yeah.

2354
01:27:47.380 --> 01:27:48.679
We don't. Come on.

2355
01:27:48.680 --> 01:27:50.229
Yeah. It's over onto Jesus.

2356
01:27:51.970 --> 01:27:53.169
There's probably more of you we

2357
01:27:53.170 --> 01:27:54.489
didn't see before the program

2358
01:27:54.490 --> 01:27:56.139
started. So thank you so, so much

2359
01:27:56.140 --> 01:27:57.999
for being here. Make sure you,

2360
01:27:58.000 --> 01:27:59.799
come up and let us know after the

2361
01:27:59.800 --> 01:28:00.639
program that you're here.

2362
01:28:00.640 --> 01:28:01.640
We want to say hello.

2363
01:28:03.700 --> 01:28:04.839
I just want to say thank you for

2364
01:28:04.840 --> 01:28:06.699
driving out to the West Side at

2365
01:28:06.700 --> 01:28:09.189
this ungodly hour.

2366
01:28:09.190 --> 01:28:11.139
Thank you, mom, for driving out from

2367
01:28:11.140 --> 01:28:12.140
the valley.

2368
01:28:14.560 --> 01:28:16.449
And

2369
01:28:16.450 --> 01:28:19.689
buy books there in the lobby, and

2370
01:28:19.690 --> 01:28:20.499
we will sign them.

2371
01:28:20.500 --> 01:28:22.359
If you think we're celebrities

2372
01:28:22.360 --> 01:28:23.360
like that or not.

2373
01:28:25.300 --> 01:28:26.259
And we'll see you out there.

2374
01:28:26.260 --> 01:28:27.489
Thank you again.

2375
01:28:27.490 --> 01:28:28.490
Did I miss anything?

2376
01:28:29.440 --> 01:28:31.149
Thank you so much to the hammer for

2377
01:28:31.150 --> 01:28:32.739
hosting us tonight.

2378
01:28:32.740 --> 01:28:33.639
And one more note.

2379
01:28:33.640 --> 01:28:35.049
They've made it available for

2380
01:28:35.050 --> 01:28:36.459
anybody who would like to register

2381
01:28:36.460 --> 01:28:39.039
to vote, who hasn't done so.

2382
01:28:39.040 --> 01:28:41.019
To do so out in the courtyard after

2383
01:28:41.020 --> 01:28:41.979
the program tonight.

2384
01:28:41.980 --> 01:28:44.109
So it's obviously a very

2385
01:28:44.110 --> 01:28:45.999
important year to vote.

2386
01:28:46.000 --> 01:28:47.199
I don't think we probably need to

2387
01:28:47.200 --> 01:28:49.509
repeat that to this audience, but,

2388
01:28:49.510 --> 01:28:50.649
we're so glad to have you here.

2389
01:28:50.650 --> 01:28:52.359
And please stay and join us for

2390
01:28:52.360 --> 01:28:54.069
cookies and tea or coffee.

2391
01:28:54.070 --> 01:28:55.989
If you drink caffeine at this time

2392
01:28:55.990 --> 01:28:57.009
of night, it's.

2393
01:28:57.010 --> 01:28:58.899
Oh, but, we

2394
01:28:58.900 --> 01:29:00.399
would love to say hello, so please

2395
01:29:00.400 --> 01:29:01.400
stick around. Thank you.

2396
01:29:03.280 --> 01:29:04.280
I don't know.