Pervert

Edited by Catherine Lord
Published by © 1995 University Art Gallery, UC Irvine

Curator Catherine Lord describes the word "pervert" as inspiration for this exhibit in a range of contexts in order to make a point about the word: its ability to be reversed and define a variety of audiences.  Blatantly, she embraces “pervert” as a derogatory word that was once applied to heterosexuals, appropriating it to simultaneously connect with the “standard” form of companionship and contrast with the application of it to homosexuals.  Contemplatively, Lord approaches this exhibit with much forethought, wanting to organize something that would “reflect the explosion of gay and lesbian cultural production in the ‘80s."