Queer Joy and Radical Love of a Real-Life Superhero Celebrating the Quilts, Performances, and Teachings of Eric Anthony Berdis

Eric

Anthony Berdis (he/him/they/them)

is a maximalist fiber and performance artist, as well as activist who has grown their career in the art world through their work in the education system and DIY art spaces

Berdis is first and foremost an educator, often referred to as “Mr B” by his young students; his teaching style, like his artwork, is playful and expansive, an act of resistance wrapped in a pre-K art lesson His time within the education system began in 2013, the same year he graduated with his BFA The parallel between graduating art school and becoming an educator (then without an official degree in education) has led Berdis to challenge the structure of the classroom, the importance of queer educators, and the abandonment of the hierarchy between teacher and student Berdis’ teaching is not strictly defined by the system, although their work with young children, particularly preschoolers, proves to be the basis for much of their current work. Berdis has invested countless hours into advocacy work for the queer community, including Safe Space training, and held the position as LGBTQIA Service Coordinator at Virginia Commonwealth University.

It should not go unnoticed that within the seriousness of that critical work, Berdis continuously brings a lightness that invites others into the conversation–he is always creating opportunities to learn acceptance and unlearn biases, encouraging the celebration of others as they are.

Playfulness and whimsy, art history and world building, health care injustice and generational grief seep from his brightly colored, beautifully chaotic quilted collages, soft sculptures (which Berdis calls Ghosts), wall paper installations, and energetic performances activist Alexander Martin, in Peoria, Illinos In true artist-run fashion, Berdis’s drove from Philadelphia on a weekend for his one-day exhibition, Hey is for Horse and Hook ups.

Similar to his approach of teaching complex ideas through radical love and patience, the contextual heaviness of Berdis’ work arrives upon close looking and time.

Drawing the viewer in with vivid colors, glamor, and abundance of layered textiles, the purpose of the work doesn’t sink in at first, not until the viewer becomes an active participant in their own learning/unlearning experience. Much like putting in “the work,” (as we have heard countless times over the past couple of years), Berdis’ audience also needs to confront their own barriers to understanding queer history, language, and contemporary issues pertaining to LGBTQIA rights like acceptance of name and pronoun changes, gender affirming healthcare, and LGBTQIA inclusive curriculum, as well as supportive (not performative) allyship.

The exhibition included a series of handmade flamboyant hobby horses, a wall drawing, and collaborative performance. The stick ponies were made from brooms of various sizes, dressed in sequins, ribbons, and feathers; each one stood upright, positioned around the garage space, leaving just enough room for visitors to meander through. White craft paper was tacked to the walls like floor-to-ceiling wallpaper, it’s surface covered with a comic-like Sharpie drawing of animated and personified clouds (complete with heart-shaped eyes, ridiculous smiles and frowns, arms, and legs), phallic bats, and countless portrayals of a cartoon-like Berdis represented as a “nonviolent homophobia fighting superhero” in tighty whities

My first lesson from Berdis was during his 2018 solo exhibition and residency at Project 1612, the alternative artist-run garage gallery space I founded with queer artist-curator and

But the main event was the participatory performance, a hobby horse race Before the race–which resulted as more of a theatrical trot–Berdis transformed into the live-action version of this hand-drawn superhero, stripping down to his white undies and tennis shoes before engaging the audience in a speech about the importance of pronoun changes and affirmation Visitors were then invited to participate in the collaborative performance in which they selected their favorite hobby horse from the garage, named it, announced their pronouns, and “raced” up and down the garage driveway No one won, everyone was celebrated

Eric’s introductory speech for the hobby horse race:

"I'd just like to let you know, that when you use the word "faggot" it creates an unsafe space for people who identify as gay, lesbian, transgender, and queer I'd like to keep this a "safe space" and am going to ask that you don't use that word here anymore, thank you."

“Go play on the railroad tracks,” and the “ queer suicides” on those tracks that resulted from such hatred All on the same tracks his dad and grandfather were making parts for.

Making and teaching about queer joy and acts of radical love for the LGBTQIA community doesn’t end in the DIY art scene While Berdis has explored queer joy and acts of radical love for the LGBTQIA community through his work in the DIY art scene and classrooms, he has sought out ways to engage those in higher education in the conversation as well In Don’t let them clip your tiny little insect wings, a 2019 solo exhibition I organized for Berdis while curator at University Galleries of Illinois State University, Berdis and I published a conversation titled “Queer Ghosts & Castoffs” and held a free and open to the public panel discussion that addressed “ pronouns and name changes, the importance of allies, and how to end homophobic and transphobic language ” We highlighted the influence his youth in Erie, Pennsylvania has had on current work and the importance of honoring the queer artists and poets who came before him. Growing up as a young queer person within the heart of the automotive industry, Berdis remembers his father and grandfather working as CNC machinists. He vividly remembers homophobes telling him to,

Much like the importance of celebrating and accepting the queer community in his 2018 Project 1612 performance, Berdis honored the ghosts of his childhood memories in a participatory performance titled Don’t forget you are a sunflower during his 2019 University Galleries exhibition The collaborative performance was inspired by Allen Ginsberg’s “Sunflower Sutra,” which states,

“Poor dead flower? when did you forget you were a flower? when did you look at your skin and decide you were an impotent dirty old locomotive? the ghost of a locomotive? the specter and shade of a once powerful mad American locomotive? You were never no locomotive, Sunflower, you were a sunflower!”

(As I am writing this, Ukraine is under attack by Russia; their symbol of resistance, the sunflower.) Reflecting on the legacies of Brandon Teena and Matthew Shepard, Berdis dressed in everyday attire and surrounded by a group of viewers, once again stripped down to his tighty whities before putting on a visually uncomfortable black suit and tie. A floor drawingofanovalsymbolizingatraintrackandmadewiththeDavid brand sunflowers seeds–a nod to the life of gay artist and AIDS activist David Wojnarowicz who passed from the illness in 1992–was withinthecircleofviewers

One-by-oneBerdisintroducedhimselfto audience members with his name and pronouns, walking through the sunflower outline, crushing the seeds beneath his feet Participants were invited to join in the human-made locomotive line, chugging along behind Berdis. Each time someone new joined they were instructedtointroducethemselvesandpronouns,anactoflearning throughrepetition,anactofbecoming

As we continue to see legislation pushed to limit the rights of the LGBTQIA community and educators and parents attempt to block queerhistoryintheeducationsystem,Berdis’workisabrightlightin this world He chooses to guide these difficult conversations, urging them into the cracks of our culture, and refuses to stand on the sidelines waiting for those in power to celebrate the breadth of queerlife,history,love,andjoy Timeandtimeagain,Berdisreminds me of the tenderness and strength within the LGBTQIA community, pastandpresent

JesssicaBingham(b

1989)isanartist,curator,homemaker,andmother Herartwork hasbeenexhibitedextensivelyacrosstheUnitedStates Binghamisthedirectorand co-curator of Project 1612, an artist-run exhibition space in Central IL co-founded in 2015 with Alexander Martin. Together they have co-curated nearly thirty exhibitions andhaveorganizedmanycommunity-basedfilmscreeningsandfundraisers Bingham studiedabroadinFlorence,Italyin2011atLinguavivaSchoolofItalianLanguageand

CharlesH CecilStudios

Bingham earned her BA in Studio Art in 2012 and completed a Post-Baccalaureate Fellowship in 2013 all from Monmouth College She completed her MA and MFA in PaintingatBradleyUniversityinPeoria,ILin2014and2016.

FredusedtoliveinPittsburghonNegleyAveinan apartmentwithaspiralstaircase,butnowlivesin Woodside,Queenswithhis20year-oldcat,Kero Beforethepandemic,hewasanartsworker,writerand curator(andalifeguard,bellhopandbakerydelivery drivertoo).Hetakesfencinglessons,playsbingoat leastonceamonthandhasmadethousandsofhandcutstickers,hundredsofpaperbracelets,three swimsuits(oneislost!),andconcoctedhisownsprinkle recipe.Hewantstomakeribbonwandsnextandfinish thetwoquiltshestarted.Helikestomakethingsand givethemawayrightnow.