Recognition: book and exhibit

2005
For my undergraduate senior thesis, I interviewed gay couples about their lives and about marriage inequality. The couples had been together for varying time-spans, each with different backgrounds. One couple had been together for over 20 years, one less than two, and another had young children they were raising together. The purpose was to humanize gay people and show that lack of civil marriage can have a huge impact on gay couples.

I had the couples take photos of their lives together for a set amount of time. In the book, I paired these photos with transparent vellum overlays to hide people’s faces, showing a lack of recognition. A scribbled type treatment was written throughout the book to give it a rougher feel. This type treatment was reflected in the exhibit.

Interview excerpts played at the exhibit with the book present, the idea that viewers would stop, listen to the interview, thumb through the book, and identify with the people they were reading about and listening to.