Performance, Protest & Politics: The Art of Gilbert Baker
November 1, 2019 – April 17, 2022
Curated by Joanna Black and Jeremy Prince
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
This exciting exhibition uses textiles, costumes, photographs and ephemera to paint a complex portrait of artist Gilbert Baker (1951–2017), who designed the iconic rainbow flag.
One of the original eight-color rainbow flags flying at United Nations Plaza during San Francisco Gay Freedom Day 1978; photograph by Crawford Wayne Barton, collection of the GLBT Historical Society.
First displayed at the 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade, the flag has transcended its humble, hand-sewn origins to become an internationally recognized symbol of the LGBTQ community. Yet the success of this design has in some ways overshadowed the larger story of its creator and his exceptional creative work.
“Performance, Protest and Politics” examines how Baker blurred the lines between artist and activist, protester and performer, emphasizing his intuitive understanding of the ways art can serve as a powerful means to address political and social issues. Over the course of four decades, Baker melded his artistic gifts with his devotion to justice, employing a range of approaches — including sewing, painting, design and performance — to advocate for positive social change.
Gilbert Baker as a bloodied Lady Justice on the fifth anniversary of the murders of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone, November 27, 1983; photograph by Daniel Nicoletta, used with permission, all rights reserved.
The exhibition has been co-curated by Jeremy Prince, who has curated and overseen numerous exhibitions at the GLBT Historical Society Museum; and Joanna Black, the archivist who oversaw the donation of the Gilbert Baker Collection to the GLBT Historical Society’s archives in 2017.
Referring to the many extravagant costumes on display, Prince notes that Baker employed drag “as a vehicle to critique injustice and express outrage. From the Betsy Ross costume to the Pink Jesus outfit, from Lady Liberty to the uniform of a concentration-camp prisoner, Baker’s drag wardrobe and personas represent the intersection of patriotism, discrimination and social justice.”
By exploring the less well known dimensions of Baker’s wide-ranging oeuvre, the exhibition places the rainbow flag back into the unexpected and evocative context of his exceptional life as an activist and artist. “We highlight some of the political flashpoints of Baker’s life and how his creative responses at those moments reveal a multilayered character — a man intent on being publicly seen and using his visibility as a declaration,” says Black.
Gilbert Baker as Pink Jesus (center), flanked by Scarlett Harlot (right) and Sister Sadie, Sadie the Rabbi Lady (left), in the 1990 International Lesbian and Gay Freedom Day Parade; photograph by Robert Pruzan, collection of the GLBT Historical Society.
About the Curators
Joanna Black is the archivist at the William E. Colby Memorial Library at the Sierra Club’s National Headquarters in Oakland, California. She was director of archives and special collections at the GLBT Historical Society from 2016 to 2018, and she currently serves as chair of the society’s Archives Working Group. Black holds a B.A. in creative writing from San Francisco State University and a master’s in library and information science from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Jeremy Prince began volunteering at the newly opened GLBT Historical Society Museum in 2011. From 2014 to 2019, he served as the society’s director of exhibitions and museum operations. He holds an M.A. in early modern European history and museum studies from San Francisco State University.
Banner: Gilbert Baker waving the Rainbow Flag, 1989. Photograph by Robert Pruzan; Robert Pruzan Collection (1998-36), GLBT Historical Society.