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
Blast from the Past; Exploring Past Editions of The Rambler: Part 2
The Rambler has drastically evolved over its 107 years of existence, serving the Transylvania University community since 1915. This evolution can be seen in several vintage issues of the Rambler released between 1955 and 1966. The formatting, content, and even the name changed over the 11-year period and has continued to change in the 56 years since.
The October 7 1955 issue of the Crimson Rambler mainly focused on the first few major events of the academic year, with the cover story focusing on the events of the previous summer, specifically the funds collected by the 175th Anniversary Development program. The program collected $34,636 through events in Northern Kentucky and Elizabethtown over the Summer and planned to continue the program in Maysville in the near future.
This issue covered the first activities of the year for many old and new clubs. A front-page story was given to the brand new Pre-Ministerial club on campus, which planned to volunteer at hospitals, orphanages, and local church Sunday School classes. The Home Life Department was set to present a “style show” which was sponsored by a local clothing store to “exhibit new clothes styles” for “high schools, colleges and club women.” The first play by the Drama Department, “The Cocktail Party” by T.S. Elliot, was advertised for October 17th in Little Theater. An optimistic update was made by the Concert Band, with 14 new members and 35 total. The rules for the gymnasium were announced, including a requirement for “regulation gym shoes” and a ban on bottled drinks. The Transylvania Choir also had its first performance of the year at the annual convocation.
A new column of the Crimson Rambler entitled “Sports Rambling,” was created to talk about sports both within Transylvania and the wider community. The main focus was the start of intramural football between fraternities, with a reminder to the teams: “Let’s play hard and clean, and may the best team win!” Other updates in the column included a note about new basketball coach C.M. Newton, recent freshman commits to the Transylvania baseball team, and rival football teams at Georgetown and Centre Colleges.
As for general news, a large section was dedicated to the upcoming Kentucky gubernatorial election. A “tight” race between Edwin Denney and Transylvania alumni, former commissioner of major league baseball, and incumbent, A.B. “Happy” Chandler, who ultimately won in the largest landslide ever seen in a Kentucky gubernatorial election.
Another short general news story, which was titled “Un-Erotic Jazz” will be posted in full here:
“A recently conducted investigation gave interesting indications on the diversified reactions of students and other young people to jazz. It was stated that the majority of the students were drawn by the “subterranean, chaotic and anarchistic” in jazz; their motto is “the wilder, the better.” In complete contrast to this, young people in the country and vocational schools preferred sentimental hits. According to the answers by the students, pure jazz has a less erotic effect than a popular song.”
Once again, The Rambler thanks SGA President Tate Ohmer for providing physical copies of these fascinating vintage Rambler editions.