Judy Garland and The Flower Fund
Initial newspaper reports of the Stonewall Riots derogatorily attributed the queer uprising to the death of singer and actress Judy Garland, whose memorial was held on the same day in June 1969. I use this disproven myth to get at the fan culture surrounding Garland, and to access the weight of an event that seems to loom over queer history. The Flower Fund depicts a hand-drawn reproduction of Garland’s grave, which graced the cover of her official fan club’s zine, The Rainbow Review. The zine contains a plea from a fan-club member who writes for additional financial support of Garland’s “Flower Fund,” a group that pays for fresh flowers to be laid at the grave of the performer each month. The collection is a ‘rainbow’ edition with matching frames, pulling from the pride flag rainbow (including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple variations) and adding black and white versions to capture the presence and absence of light.
The Flower Fund - Rubylith, 2023. Rubylith Film with Lightbox. 26 1/2h in x 36 3/4w in x 5 1/2d in. (Lightbox). Photo: Installation view at Northern-Southern, Austin.
The Flower Fund – Artist Book, 2023. Accordion Booklet in hand-made clamshell box; Edition of 15 books. 19 x 12 x 1.5 inches (closed); 19 x 25 x 1.5 inches (open).
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This artist book version of The Flower Fund, is an accordion booklet collating the print series of the same name. Housed in a custom clamshell box, the work includes the rainbow pride flag version of The Flower Fund, affixed to a long paper ‘grate.’ This format responds to an image captured by Fred McDarrah at the 5th Annual Pride March held in New York City in 1975. In the image two women place a bouquet of flowers on the then shuttered Stonewall Inn, paying homage to the act of civil disobedience that took place half a decade earlier. The accordion booklet can be viewed in its accompanying clamshell box or displayed upright as a 12-ft long artist book.
An entrance from ‘A Great Lady Has An Interview’ or The Faggot’s National Anthem, 2023. Stage gels in lightbox. 10.5 x 20 x 5 in.
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This lightbox work pulls from a Judy Garland performance in MGM’s 1945 film, Ziegfeld Folles. A contemporary biographer derogatorily termed Garland’s performance in the film as “The Faggot’s National Anthem.” In the scene referenced, Garland emerges from a glowing closet and meets a crowd of tuxedoed young journalists who are there to seduce an answer from her regarding her next film – a role which we find out is about the inventor of the safety pin.
My work proposes a perpetual waiting, as Garland fails to emerge from my lightbox. Continuing with my emphasis on light, the work is made from colored stage transparencies cut and overlaid on one another to create a vibrant, hyper-saturated orange like the one in the original technicolor film.
Funeral Rose for Judy Garland - 2018, 2023. Laser cut MDF embedded in wall. 4 x 5 in.
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Funeral Rose for Judy Garland - 2018 references a rose emblem carved into the wall of Judy Garland’s funeral pavilion in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Garland’s body and official gravesite were moved from upstate New York in 2018 at the request of her daughter Liza Minnelli and into this newly constructed pavilion. Garland’s new tomb now features a somewhat cliché rose carved into the pink-brown granite of the pavilion. With my intervention in the gallery wall I wanted to simulate the rose relief and allow a tactile void to be read alongside my other works on Garland.
Slipcase for The Judy Garland Deluxe Set, 2023. Silkscreen print, hand-made box; Open Edition. 12.5 x 12.5 x 0.75 inches
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A newspaper published the day after Judy Garland’s death contains an image of young mourners seen playing Garland records on the sidewalk while waiting to view the performer’s body. The ‘deluxe set’ vinyl included here can be seen as one of the records played on the sidewalk. Alluding to Wayne Koestenbaum’s theory proposed in The Queen’s Throat, records bring a diva’s voice back to life. As the young mourner’s play the record on the street, they bring Garland back to life, allowing her to sing once more. An open edition, as I find copies of this deluxe set, I house them in this black slipcase, imprinted with the image of the mourners on the street – a protective casing for both the album and Garland’s voice.
Backdrop for the Judy Garland Flower Shop, 2024. Hand painted backdrop; Acrylic on Canvas. 108 x 144 in.
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Utilizing techniques used in film and stage backdrop painting, Backdrop for the Judy Garland Flower Shop is a painting meant to viewed and activated through photography. The backdrop references a promotional set of photographs produced by the MGM Press Department during the filming of The Wizard of Oz. In the photographs actress Judy Garland poses with flower arrangements, advertising the newly opened flower shop venture boasting her name. The resulting press images were highly staged and the scenario was used as a way to promote Garland and her upcoming film(s). The resulting backdrop removes Garland from the source imagery and recreates the setting of the flower shop, hoping to call out the artificiality of the scenario and open space for future activations.
