created by Kameron Hardin

IG: 1_something_strange_1

LM Alcott, author of Little Women, was known by their friends and family as “Lou” or “Papa.” They wrote in their journal once, “I am more than half persuaded that I am a man’s soul put by some freak of nature into a woman’s body.” While they were not publicly presenting as a man, I feel confident that they were gender-expansive, if not a trans man. This picture is a re-imagining of them as they perhaps would have liked to be seen. 

-Luka Weinberger, www.lowbarart.com 

This work is for sale, please contact Luka if interested.

Luka’s words about this painting: 

Brie, they/she 

Brie is a non-binary femme-presenting individual. They are also a black woman and identify as such. They currently study at OSU and spoke extensively about their writing, and expressing themselves and their thoughts on various social topics through their papers. So if felt fitting to incorporate the written word into the piece. Because Brie expressed a more “fixed” versus fluid identity, I employed dry brushing and impasto techniques. Before applying color, I painted the words “they” and “them” over and over in a white gesso, and then the dry brushing slowly made the words visible. We cannot know someone’s gender just by how they dress or look. We must ask, listen, and acknowledge when told. 

“To me, trans means bravery. From birth, society tells you who you are, who you should be, how you should live. Existence is just as standardized and controlled as everything else in life. Being trans, is automatically going against what our society has deemed as “the right way to exist,” and I think there’s a lot of courage in that. To be loud about being trans takes courage. To change your name takes courage. To change your appearance takes courage. To explore, both internally and externally takes courage. To even grapple with the idea that you could be trans, takes so much courage.” 

Sea Dax, www.seadaxartist.com

“Caw, caw!” A huge black crow circled above me in the air and landed on a rock nearby. We looked at each other in silence. 
“Crow, are you a boy or a girl?” 
“Caw, caw!” 
I laughed and rolled over on my back. 
The sky was crayon blue. I pretended I was lying on the cotton white clouds. The earth was damp against my back. 
The sun was hot, the breeze was cool. I felt happy. Nature held me close and seemed to find no fault with me.” 
-Leslie Feinberg, Stone Butch Blues