October 9, 2014
To kick off the Art Department’s 2014-2015 “Visiting Artist Series” American lesbian performance artist Holly Hughes delivered powerful, hilarious and thought-provoking monologues from her various works. Hughes, who grew up in Michigan, discussed her beginnings as a low-key feminist painter until 1978, when she volunteered at the Wow Café, a small NYC performance venue. There, she began writing plays. Hughes told the story of her first play, based on her experience working as a waitress at Red Lobster while dealing with coming out as a lesbian. However, Hughes was thrust into the spotlight during the outbreak of the AIDS epidemic. In response to the spread of the disease, the government cut funding to the arts, specifically “gay” art, Hughes recounted. One of the largest grants she had won to pay her actors was revoked. Hughes joined three other wronged artists to file a lawsuit against the federal government that went all the way to the Supreme Court. During this time, Hughes was attacked by an organization called Concerned Women for America, which published her home address. She then discussed the hundreds of letters she received with death threats, bible verses and condemnations. In the end, she and the three other artists won back their grant funding, but the act cutting funds to gay artists was not repealed, the court having ruled that the consideration of standards of decency does not violate the First Amendment.
Most of Hughes’ monologues are derived from her life experiences, with some playful additions. Initially, her delivery was very conversational. Her speech then went back and forth from reading notes in one of her books, Clit Notes, and offhanded jokes. Hughes applied just the right amount of cynicism to her talk. She often spoke briefly on the early published presumptions on homosexuality which said homosexuals were characterized chiefly by their “compulsive erotic relationships with household appliances,” which she acerbically commented was somewhat accurate.
Similarly biting remarks throughout the talk kept the audience thoroughly entertained. Her approach was so fluid that I couldn’t tell if what I had just listened to was completely scripted or improvisation. There were moments when Hughes’ conversational tone disappeared and her theatrical talent would shine through. For example, after uttering a powerful line relating to her struggles as a lesbian, she would unexpectedly crack another joke. The vascillating tone between lighthearted and serious was disconcerting, but ultimately the whiplash made an enjoyable experience.
Holly Hughes gave an unbelievably shocking, yet captivating sampler of the superb written work she has produced throughout her life. She provided a secret peek into her complicated existence, particularly her bravery in the 1990’s culture war on homosexuals.
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