Meet LGBT icons of political and pop culture

A pop-art rendering of a Crisco can and a sign that reads “TOO CUTE TO BE BINARY” are just two of more than 500 pieces of illustrated artwork on display at William Way LGBT Community Center.

The art exhibit, called ICONS, is an illustrative installation by artist and LGBT-issues journalist Natalie Hope McDonald.

Consuming five walls of William Way’s main lobby, ICONS is composed of black-and-white, pen and ink illustrations of celebrities, logos, products and news items pertinent to the LGBT community.

ICONS’ words and images represent the historical arc of the LGBT experience through a social lens, said McDonald. By reducing images to their simplest forms, the artist asks attendees to consider associations beyond their own.

A goal for McDonald in creating ICONS was to be inclusive with the images she chose.

“I could not even dream of tackling an art project of this scope without thinking well beyond my own identity,” she said.  “I think I actually spent more time on other touchstones beyond white women because I wanted to make a statement about something that is much bigger than me.”

She went big with the project — McDonald said no one has ever taken over William Way’s gallery space in the same way — because nothing less could represent the diversity of the LGBT community.

The artist used a black-and-white motif, a commonality in her art, so viewers could digest ICONS as a continuous visual, not just frame by frame. McDonald also wanted to make familiar images more interesting to the eye.

“I decided to reduce even some of the most famous images down to their simplest lines and forms,” she said. “For example, it might be strange seeing the ACT UP logo in stark black and white rather than having that pop of pink. I think in some ways the black-and-white style is very democratic — nothing stands out for its color scheme.”

Much of ICONS’ content is political, from news headlines that break the first AIDS cases to countless logos associated with contemporary movements, such as #SayHerName and “Queer + Trans Black Lives Matter.”

“I can’t pretend that the current political climate has not informed the way I approached history. It absolutely has,” said McDonald. “The most recent debates within Philadelphia’s own LGBT community, especially related to nightlife, healthcare and nonprofit orgs, played an important role too.”

She said the impact of ICONS has been largely connective. She’s seen people who “may not normally walk into an art space” come in to check out the exhibit, as well as people who have never considered visiting William Way.

“I like to hope the show is bringing people together in new ways,” said McDonald. “I was seeing people who may not have ordinarily talked to each other start conversations about their memories inspired by a particular piece of art. This was perhaps the most satisfying moment for me as an artist.”

ICONS will hold a closing reception Oct. 19, when attendees will have the chance to meet the artist and buy available works. Included for purchase is a collection of vegan leather jackets on display, all of them painted by McDonald.

The artist noted she purposely priced the art “much, much, much lower” than she would in a different gallery setting, to encourage attendees to buy.

“I like the idea of people being able to purchase pieces that will live separately and differently from this installation. They are meant to be broken up in the same way they were meant to come together.”  

ICONS is at William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St., through Oct. 26. Admission is free. For more information, visit http://www.waygay.org/center-calendar/2018/9/14/art-gallery-icon-an-installation-by-natalie-hope-mcdonald.

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