My friend Billy's father once said you could measure the depth of a person's tragedy by the amount of distance between how they see themselves and how they're seen by others. As an American and as a transperson, I find this hypothesis to be really interesting." – Justin Vivian Bond

PARTICIPANT INC is proud to present Justin Vivian Bond, My Model / My Self, a solo exhibition comprised of watercolors, sculptural installation, video, and performance, originated at Vitrine Gallery, London in 2015, and restaged on the occasion of Joe's Pub at the Public Theater’s yearlong retrospective of Bond's career as a performer, artist, writer, and activist. The exhibition opening coincides with Mx America at Joe’s Pub, in which Bond explores "ways of seeing and being seen." Central to this exploration is Bond's childhood and ongoing obsession with supermodel Karen Graham — the face of Estee Lauder cosmetics from 1972-1985. Bond's essay on Graham appears in the Feminist Press anthology ICON, edited by Amy Scholder. In it, Bond writes:

"She was blank and sphinx-like, only more modern because she was wearing lots of makeup. I decided that with enough makeup on you could convince anybody of anything. So I stared at her for hours on end and convinced myself that one day I would be seen as the person I knew myself to be — but until then I had to hide her in order to survive. All I had to do was to wait, and believe, and keep staring straight ahead at the future. She, the vision of blank perfection in the Estée Lauder ads, assured me I would become the person I am today."

 

LECTURES:

Justin Vivian Bond reading a series of four lectures given by Billy Baldwin, the most iconic interior decorator of the 20th century, which were originally presented at the Copper-Hewitt Museum shortly after Baldwin’s retirement in 1974:

Mar 20, 6pm
Lecture 1: The Beginning of the Project

Mar 27, 6pm
Lecture 2: The Bones of a Room

Apr 3, 6pm
Lecture 3: The Elements of Decoration

Apr 10, 6pm
Lecture 4: The Personal Touch