Masculinity Reimagined is an artistic journey about the combatants of toxic masculinity through different perspectives. The name MASCS was created with the intention of a dual meaning, Masculinity and the “mask” of being brooding, strong, and manly. This duality shows that being masculine does not just mean one thing. Justin Korver, Moises Salazar, Betsy Odom, John Paul Morabito, and Darryl DeAngelo Terrell have come together to show us collections of magnificent pieces of artwork that will have everyone thinking about the way they see masculinity.
Justin Kover – Left: “Reshooting Predator Pronouns” 2022 Archival pigment print on Hahnemuühle paper with pearled cotton embroidery, Center: “Reshooting: Filled” 2022 Archival pigment print on Hahnemuühle paper with pearled cotton embroidery, Right: “Reshooting: Prey Pronouns” Archival pigment print on Hahnemuühle paper with pearled cotton embroidery
Justin Korver – Left end: “I guess I think of pink as the complement of green” 2018 Artist’s father’s hat and embroidery floss, Left inner: “We’ve all got our little addictions” 2018 Artist’s father’s hat and embroidery floss, Right inner: “A flower crown isn’t a laurel wreath trees are more manly” 2018 Artist’s father’s hat and embroidery floss, Right end: “Clyfford still spent a lot of time looking at fields” 2018 Artist’s father’s hat and embroidery floss
Justin Korver: Senior Lecturer at Texas A&M for the Arts, who focused his thesis on, “The critique of the social construction of masculinity.” brought us a collection of artwork that showed us the intimate relationship within masculine hobbies. Justin uses hunting, camo, and baseball caps to encapsulate the unspoken vulnerability of hobbies and items that are by society’s standards, masc.
Moises Salazar – “Untitled” 2022 Glitter on canvas
Moises Salazar – “The Winner Takes It All” 2022 Glitter on board, fabric, faux flowers
Moises Salazar: A nonbinary, queer, Mexican American artist. They show intersectionality in their work between queerness, ethnicity, gender, race, and self-identity. In Mascuilty reimagined Moises tied sports, such as boxing and soccer, which are usually seen as very masculine into feminine and dainty using glitter, flowers, and embroidery.
Betsy Odom – “Softball Bat” 2010 wood, athletic tape, tooled leather
Betsy Odom – “Bulldog 30 (shoulder pads)” 2009 Molded plywood, tooled leather, fabric, foam, ribbon
Betsy Odom: A lecturer in fine arts sculpture and 3D design, an artist, and a curator. Betsy was the only woman in this gallery, giving us a woman’s perspective on masculinity. She took football and softball and made them her own. Growing up she was in awe of women’s sports, specifically softball. In an interview, she states, “Personally, I’m quite bad at it and grew up envious of the girls who could play, not only for their prowess and talent but also for the freedom in the invisibility of women’s sports. The magical thing about women’s athletics is that no one is watching, so little suggestions of defying the patriarchy seem to naturally seep through”. Betsy’s football shoulder pads are a statement about the violence in football using embellishments like ribbon.
John Paull Morabito – “For Félix (yellow like twilight and then the dawn)” 2021 Cotton and glass beads, Courtesy of Patricia Sweetow Gallery
John Paul Morabito – “For Félix (rose like sweet and sweaty intoxication)” 2021 Cotton and glass beads, Courtesy of Patricia Sweetow Gallery
John Paul Morabito: A queer, nonbinary artist who specializes in weaving. John created a collection of tapestries that are hand beaded onto very beautiful vibrant colored cotton. Their “For Félix” collection is a story of care and nurture within the resistance to AIDS, COVID-19, and the colorful world of drag.
Darryl DeAngelo Terrel – “Here’s a list of what I deserve #1” 2022 Video
Darryl DeAngelo Terrel: Identifies as a black, nonbinary, queer, fat artist who shows that through photography, video, performance, and text. Darryl’s entrancing films projected on the wall challenges the idea that black men can not be vulnerable. Within these videos, they demand respect within busts portraits and flower crowns.
Josh Porter, the galleries curator, was interviewed by Madalyn Stump
M: “What is your favorite piece in the gallery?”
J: “Honestly has to be this one right here (Moises Salazar: “Untitled” 2022 Glitter on canvas), this sort of green soccer player in a field of flowers. I just love the use of material which I think is something that is present throughout the entire show. Extravagant use of glitter, beads, and soft of using a lot of traditionally feminine techniques and materials as a way to counteract those as not being high art, there’s a lot of sort of gendered bias in that. And incorporating masculine sports and saying hey it doesn’t have to be represented in a singular way and challenging these binary understandings of gender, so yeah I definitely think that is my favorite piece by Moises”
Special thanks to Anthony Mead
Very insightful article!