Object Details
Artist
LJ Roberts, born 1980
Sitter
Stormé DeLarverie, c. 24 Dec 1920 - 24 May 2014
Sylvia Rivera, 2 Jul 1951 - 19 Feb 2002
Marsha P. Johnson, 24 Aug 1945 - 6 Jul 1992
Exhibition Label
Born New Orleans, Louisiana
LJ Roberts’s installation honors performer and gay rights activist Stormé DeLarverie. From the mid-1950s, DeLarverie performed as the emcee and only drag king of the Jewel Box Revue, a racially integrated drag variety show. In 1969, DeLarverie was part of what she called the “rebellion” at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. It was there that she may have thrown the first punch in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.
Roberts noticed DeLarverie’s absence in narratives about the rebellion, including news coverage of the Stonewall National Monument designation. In response, this installation features images of DeLarverie from different stages of her life, photographs of other queer activists of color, including Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, and collaged articles that transform information into poetry. Fractured, flickering, and expansive, the work refuses the static singularity of the conventional monument. Instead, it offers history as an ongoing process of construction.
The photographers whose images are seen in Stormé at Stonewall include:
Michelle V. Agins
Sam Bassett
JEB (Joan E. Biren)
Diana Davies
Fred McDarrah
Valerie Shaff
Martin Szipál aka Martin S. Martin
Vicente
Randolfe (Randy) Wicker
Avery Willard
Desconocido
Nacida en Nueva Orleans, Luisiana
La instalación de LJ Roberts rinde honor a Stormé DeLarverie, artista y activista de los derechos gay. Desde la década de 1950, DeLarverie fue animadora y única “drag king” del Jewel Box Revue, un espectáculo de transformismo racialmente inclusivo. En 1969 participó en lo que ella llamaba la “rebelión” en el Stonewall Inn de Nueva York, donde quizás haya dado su primer golpe en la lucha por los derechos LGBTQ+.
Roberts notó la ausencia de DeLarverie en las narrativas sobre la revuelta, incluida la cobertura noticiosa de la designación de Stonewall como monumento nacional. En contraste, esta instalación presenta imágenes de DeLarverie en distintas etapas de su vida, fotos de otras activistas queer de color, incluidas Marsha P. Johnson y Sylvia Rivera, y collages que transforman los artículos de prensa en poesía. Fraccionada, parpadeante y expansiva, la obra niega la estática singularidad del monumento convencional para ofrecernos la historia como un proceso de construcción continuo.
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; purchase funded by Tommie L. Pegues and Donald A. Capoccia.
Date
2019
Object number
NPG.2022.11
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; purchase funded by Tommie L. Pegues and Donald A. Capoccia
© LJ Roberts
Type
Time-Based Media
Medium
Plywood; Paint; Inkjet prints (polyester ?); Acrylics (transparent and white opaque); Neon lighting, with applied sepia tone (?); Electrical wiring; Polycarbonate; Silicone; Glass; Copper; Electrical tape.
Dimensions
Variable
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Exhibition
The Struggle for Justice - Current Installation
On View
NPG, West Gallery 220
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Weapon
Printed Material\Newspaper
Architecture\Window
Costume\Dress Accessory\Neckwear\Tie
Costume\Headgear\Hat\Fedora
Equipment\Sign
Weapon\Gun\Pistol
Human Figures\Crowd
Installation
Sylvia Rivera: Female
Sylvia Rivera: Social Welfare and Reform\Reformer\Social reformer\Civil rights activist\LGBT rights activist
Sylvia Rivera: Social Welfare and Reform\Reformer\Social reformer\Civil rights activist\LGBT rights activist\Transgender rights activist
Stormé DeLarverie: Female
Stormé DeLarverie: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Music\Musician\Singer
Stormé DeLarverie: Arts and Culture\Performing Arts\Performer
Stormé DeLarverie: Social Welfare and Reform\Reformer\Social reformer\Civil rights activist\LGBT rights activist
Stormé DeLarverie: Social Welfare and Reform\Social justice agent of change
Marsha P. Johnson: Social Welfare and Reform\Reformer\Social reformer\Civil rights activist\LGBT rights activist
Marsha P. Johnson: Social Welfare and Reform\Reformer\Social reformer\Civil rights activist\LGBT rights activist\Transgender rights activist
Marsha P. Johnson: Social Welfare and Reform\Reformer\Social reformer\Civil rights activist\Public health advocate
Marsha P. Johnson: Social Welfare and Reform\Social justice agent of change
Portrait
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4cb15282f-2beb-4779-b44a-f57e78d82ce7
npg_NPG.2022.11
NPG
STORMÉ AT STONEWALL
National Portrait Gallery
https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.2022.11
Link to Original Record
Record ID
npg_NPG.2022.11