A R T S & C U LT U R E
Cover Story
The Meaning Behind This Year's Pride Guide Cover Art By
Maynor Campos
BOSTON IDE IDE
The cover of every issue of the Boston PR Pride Guide features works of art created by GU 2 0 members of Greater Boston’s vibrant community of queer and ally artists. I was delighted and honored to be asked to illustrate this year’s cover. In what follows is a discussion of the meaning behind the painting I made. It is a highly personal response to the editors’ request for an image whose style and content embodied this year’s Pride theme of Rainbow Resistance as it related particularly to the intersection between LGBTQ rights and the highly charged social and political issue of immigration. The seated person in the foreground of the piece represents me, an immigrant who came to the United States looking for a better life. I came here from Guatemala, where being gay was not accepted when I lived there. Even now it can be a hostile environment for LGBTQ people. The American flag draped over my shoulders represents the freedom that I, as many others, sought when I immigrated to the US. However, I did not realize until I arrived that there is much discrimination that exists. I turned to the friends and community I made in my new home for strength and support, and their support helped me become the person I am now. Among this affirming community I also found my husband, who always has my back and supports me in every way that
he can; he is represented as the person in blue standing and hugging me from behind. 1 8 I acknowledge that we would not have been able to marry had the LGBTQ community not fought a long battle for equality. The overarching theme of this piece is togetherness, because there is strength in numbers and progress cannot be achieved without the support and cooperation of a diverse many. This diversity and plurality is represented by the six individuals in the piece: one from every continent, meant to reflect all races, ethnicities, and genders united in a common cause. The lack of precise facial features permits viewers to see themselves as well as others in these figures. The cover therefore functions on both the specific and the general level: while the story behind the design is personal, I imagine that it resonates with the experiences of many in our community – especially those of fellow queer immigrants. Thus, the embrace of the two individuals in the foreground can represent not only my loving relationship with my husband, but the way in which members of the LGBTQ community care for one another and encourage togetherness. The individual wearing green is actually dressed in camouflage, a direct reference to recent efforts to ban transgender people from SM
The cover therefore functions on both the specific and the general level: while the story behind the design is personal, I imagine that it resonates with the experiences of many in our community – especially those of fellow queer immigrants.
154 | Boston Pride 2018
