Tilt-Shift LA: New Queer Perspectives on the Western Edge

The San Andreas Fault shifts and the Santa Ana winds blow hot. Infrequent rains erode parched soil and houses sink or slide down hillsides. Arson fires repeatedly devour thousands of acres of public and private land, leveling homes, parks, barns and businesses. Neighborhoods divide themselves into money and class, valley and hill, barren lot and lush yard while art and culture flourish alongside the entertainment industry. West Hollywood, arguably one of the nation's most notable gay villages, was incorporated as a city of Los Angeles County in the mid–1980s. Yet, well into the first decade of this century, the passing of Proposition 8 prompted not much more than a few nights of protest on the main thoroughfare of Santa Monica Boulevard.

Who are we that persist in this divergent space designed as an oasis in the desert? As queer artists, we navigate a city that may have been built on illusion but is being held together by individualized histories. Our bodies and our intellects seek harmony with or rebel against the disparate confluences of our surroundings while gleaning information and inspiration. Our art proposes pragmatic solutions to, fantastic alternatives for, or straightforward documentation of the world as we experience it at the western edge of western civilization.

Testing the strength of the theory that westward movement in America originally signified a distancing from repressive European values, our twentieth century predecessors fought for equality and acceptance. They made space for us in cafés, nightclubs and parades on city streets. We began living our lives openly and creating work tied inextricably to our desires as they relate to our location and generation. Soon we were featured in magazines and on the silver screen. We searched glossy pages and flickering images at copious magazine stands and packed movie houses, hoping to find reflections of the way we see ourselves. Instead we found that invisible boundaries still divide us from the world, and sometimes even from each other.

Because the ground we stand on is unstable - literally and metaphorically - the fortification of our psychological landscape is of utmost importance. There is no singular viewpoint on important issues that are certain to affect entire communities where nature and man threaten to wipe out the bedrock of our collective and varied efforts and hopes. Piece by piece we work to ensure that each of our voices is heard, confident that our contributions must strengthen the foundation of a future historical dialogue as it will pertain to queer artists living and working in Los Angeles right now.

"Tilt-shift" refers to the use of camera movements typically employed in creating a simulated environment or miniature scene. The term in this context is well suited to Los Angeles-based queer artists who do not shy away from exploring and exploiting the visibility of a specific timeframe and geographic location, skewing and adjusting concepts of queerness to illuminate individual ideals.

–         Darin Klein, 2012