ADVERTISEMENT

    Wex Caps Say Gay Program with Queer Genius and Filmmaker Visit

    Thursday, June 30, the Wexner Center for the Arts caps their Say Gay program with Chet Pancake’s documentary, Queer Genius. The filmmaker joins Hope Madden for a chat about the project.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Hope Madden: How do you describe Queer Genius?

    Chet Pancake: It’s portraits of five queer female nonbinary artists and it allows them to speak about their own creative practices. Through those practices, for me, there’s a special intelligence or a special way of being or thinking about what genius is and what female lesbian nonbinary artists have to offer in terms of philosophy, in terms of creative practice, and just ways of being in the world.

    For me, it’s an opportunity to get a window into a very marginalized group of people who have critical things to say about what it is to be human, what it is to be a genius, what intelligence means, what visionary means to them.

    I, of course, think they’re all visionary, special people. That was the impetus. I want to know, in a film that’s shown in a theater, the contents of their minds.

    HM: Did the title Queer Genius come first, or did it come once you got to know the subjects?

    CP: It kind of came after. I was calling it The Genius Project. I worked with a mentor named David Getsy. Part of his practice as an art historian is rethinking and rewriting about and rediscovering LGBTQIA artists from the ’60s and ’70s and rethinking their queerness or things they may have been able to express at that time. And I thought, if I could do any film, I wanted I would do one that reclaims the word genius as not patriarchal. What does it mean if you do that?

    There is this relationship between queer and the term genius. Heather Love calls it the sacred and the damned at the same time. There are all these icons who are elevated greatly but also end up in jail, they’re like completely unacceptable. So, the queer genius is elevated as a genius but inordinately under attack. You can say that about race, too. There’s a special intelligence that comes from being an oppressed person but also comes from overcoming it. So, it was in that spirit.

    HM: How did you choose these five artists?

    CP: I wanted intergenerational. I started first with Eileen Myles. We had already had this discussion about reclaiming terms. She’s very influenced by Henry Miller, and influences that people consider to be very sexist, so we were both interested in just reclaiming that. Just reclaim Henry Miller as an influence. Just reclaim genius. Just reclaim it and reform it and twist it. So, they were the first person. I was like, “Well hey, I got this fellowship. Let’s do that genius thing.”

    And Jibz Cameron, Dynasty Handbag, I’d known for years. Jibz’s kind of absurdist, dark comedic thing was under-discussed.

    And then Black Quantum Futurism I had met in Philadelphia through an independent artists gallery and when I met them, I just was blown away by all the components, all the creative practice. Rasheeda being a practicing attorney on the ground and the way they were applying Afro-Futurism to a practical social problem. To me, that was this whole package of what I’ve seen a lot of queer artists doing for a long time, and female artists particularly. This goes to show people who are working pragmatically, politically, creatively. Rasheeda was just hitting on all cylinders and Camae as well, as Moor Mother. This is radical stuff.

    And then I talked to Barbara Hammer, and she was like, “Oh my God, yes. Let’s reclaim the word. And I’m happy to say it. I’m 77 and I’m going to say that I’m a genius.”

    HM: It was fascinating to see how each artist grapples with the term genius.

    CP: It’s interesting. I think men claim it. I have film students who try to convince me every day about their genius. They’re really trained that they must do that, that part of their mandate to survive is to sell themselves that way.

    I think that Barbara was really assessing legacy at that point. Barbara’s been a spokesperson for the lesbian community her whole life. She’s thinking, let’s claim it. She’ll claim it for herself.

    I think Eileen was also like, “Yeah, I’ll say that.”

    Jibz and Camae were just not at that point. And for Camae and Rasheeda, racial implications around “genius” are more complicated than they are for white people. There’s a whole other intersection there and Rasheeda’s still focusing on her own mentors as the geniuses.

    HM: What do you hope people take away from the film?

    CP: I see cinematic value in seeing yourself reflected larger than life on the big screen. That’s validating.

    And to be in a place with the subjects for two hours opens up your minds to new ideas. Artists have saved my life. And the artists who saved my life the most have been female queer artists who I met or knew at critical moments. I’m happy that I was able to talk about the practice, also the people, and how art is generative and how it can be accessible to people.

    HM: Tell me about your relationship with the Wexner Center.

    CP: I was really lucky that my friend who supported this film and who is an artist herself connected me with Wexner. And they had had a lot of positive experiences with Barbara, and they were interested in the piece, so I was able to go out for a two-week residency. It was critical. I was able to work there in their post facility.

    And I’m happy the film found its way back to the Wexner because I think it works in conjunction with the program they have right now. It’s a good fit.

    I’m happy to be going out to Columbus because I used to go to Columbus when I was in college to go to gay bars there. I used to drive from Morgantown, West Virginia and go out to the bars. So, Columbus is deep in my heart because I spent so much time there as a young person listening to Whitney Houston and dancing the night away. Columbus was my kind of entrance into the larger world of gay culture, so I always love Columbus for all those reasons. It was to me a life-saving presence.

    See Queer Genius Thursday, June 30 at 7 p.m. at the Wexner Center for the Arts with a Q&A from the filmmaker. For tickets and information, visit wexarts.org.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Subscribe

    More to Explore:

    Beat Bazaar Creates New Space for Columbus Producers

    On February 23, The Kutt Record shop filled with...

    Good Looking Batch of New Movies

    You will find an excellent crop of new movies...

    Sarah Maldoror: Tricontinental Cinema at the Wexner Center for the Arts

    Sarah Maldoror, a pioneer of African cinema and Black...

    So Much Kung Fu! Plus Oscar Nominees and More

    It's Oscar weekend! Do you need to brush up?...

    New Pickleball & Entertainment Venue Headed for Westerville

    The pickleball craze isn't quite done with Central Ohio....
    Hope Madden
    Hope Maddenhttps://columbusunderground.com
    Hope Madden is a freelance contributor on Columbus Underground who covers the independent film scene, writes film reviews and previews film events.
    ADVERTISEMENT