A Relevant Family and Drag Queens of Course

WOWZA! What a beautiful day in LA!

This past week I watched Rupual’s Drag Race Finale. Along with that, I’ve been thinking about the word relevance in regards to art.

During Rupaul’s Drag Race, Roxxy Andrew has a breakdown on stage. It brought tears to my eyes. I can’t imagine being left at a bus stop by your own mother. After her breakdown, Rupaul says, ‘we get to choose our family’. Even she had tears in her throat. Throughout my youth, I never understood the age-old saying ‘blood is thicker than water. As much as I love my family, I went through a phase in my life where family was not so meaningful. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t love them, but that I had wanted the freedom to choose whom I wanted in my life. In doing so, I created a family of friendships that have lasted a lifetime. This is relevance.

But as I think about relevance in regards to my art, I realize that, relevance, in any form, is in the eye of the beholder. As much as there is simplicity in my work, there is a depth that goes beyond words. It defines who I am; that is what matters. It’s relevant! According to an online dictionary, relevance is defined as, “a: relation to the matter at hand b: practical and especially social applicability.” And though I can question my work according to the outside world, it remains relevant regardless. It matters because that is how I see our world. I couldn’t possibly see it through anyone else’s eyes other than my own. But (and yes there’s a but) I couldn’t possibly see this world though the eyes that I do had I not had the most amazing family, blood or not.

I love you all for embracing the person that I am and continue to be. And to all the drag queens I’ve been blessed to meet, you inspire me greatly.

A most special shout out to my little sister Blanca; she inspires me not just as a sister, but also as a mother, friend, daughter and human being. I love you hermana! The piece here is a painting of one of my very first Little Girls; it’s called “Blanca Cuts Her Hair.” When we were kids, our other sister, Moni, had the idea to play hairdresser and cut Blanca’s hair, or rather, she chopped it. The idea of it makes me laugh. To Blanca, you are the LIFE in my party!

Food for thought: Existence is no more than the precarious attainment of relevance in an intensely mobile flux of past, present, and future. – Susan Sontag

Have a beautiful weekend!!!!