Los Angeles based artist Drake Labry on maintaining a healthy balance, pushing limits and what he would like to change about the art scene. BY RICK GALIHER | PHOTO BY ANTHONY DURAN There’s more than meets the eye with artist Drake Labry. He studied art from an early age in the South, continued his education…
Legendary drag superstar Jackie Beat celebrates a quarter century of drag genius with a one-night-only, once-in-a-lifetime, one-of-a-kind, best-of show performance at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Village this month. BY MARK ARIEL | PHOTO BY MAGNUS HASTINGSThe Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center is welcoming Los Angeles drag superstar Jackie Beat to…
LA LGBT Center’s smartphone dating app study reveals higher risk of gonorrhea and chlamydia among users. BY VICTOR MELAMED Results of a study conducted by the Los Angeles LGBT Center indicate that gay/bisexual men who use smartphone dating applications, such as Grindr, Scruff, and Recon, to seek sexual partners—have a higher risk of contracting common…
Walt Cassidy’s journey from androgynous New York Club Kid to respected contemporary artist. BY PAULO MURILLO Walt Cassidy is a man of many incarnations. He survived the early 1990s as New York Club Kid known as Waltpaper, he founded the conceptual hardcore punk band BOOB in the late 90s, and he’s worked hard to earn…
The best things in life are free. It’s “summertime, and the livin’ is easy” even if you are on a budget. The key is to know where to go. Here’s a sampling. COMPILED BY RICK GALIHER LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART On Friday nights, chill with “Jazz at LACMA,” on Saturday afternoons, spice up…
“ART 4 Empty Store Fronts.” One man’s noble quest to increase the presence of art in Los Angeles. BY ORLY LYONNE Sadly, quite a few stores in the Los Angeles area are vacant, waiting to be rented, leaving behind a rather unseemly promenade of empty store fronts. However all that may very well change in the…
This year’s “Pride Is YOU” celebration marks OC Pride’s sixth annual event since its triumphant return in 2009. BY VICTOR MELAMED On August 9, 2014, from noon until 10 pm, OC Pride will once again take over the streets of Downtown Santa Ana for a fun and free festival celebrating the culture, identity, and achievements…
Traditionally relegated to sexual invisibility by the age of fifty, the men in Jay Lawton’s photographs defy cultural expectations. BY MARK ARIEL | PHOTOS Courtesy of ONE Archives at the USC Libraries “The Jay R. Lawton: Project 50,” organized by Thomas Trafelet and Peter Ayala, on exhibit last month at the ONE Archives Gallery &…
Painting by Miguel Angel Reyes Local gay artists discuss their work, inspiration and accomplishments in the art world. BY PAULO MURILLO Miguel Angel Reyes INTIMATE SITUATIONS Mexican born artist Miguel Angel Reyes is a Los Angeles-based portrait and figurative painter, muralist, printmaker and illustrator. He graduated from Otis Parson School of Design in 1987 with a…
Not your grandmother’s old house—homoerotic art in all its animalistic, sensual, beautiful, minimalistic, exaggerated and comical form is on display from floor to ceiling. BY PAULO MURILLO | PHOTO by HENNING VON BERG OF HvB PHOTOGRAPHY Last month I was invited to visit the Tom of Finland Foundation – or TOM House as it is called…
An exhibit of life drawings by J.B. Harter and students of the LA LGBT Center’s Learning Curve program. BY PAULO MURILLO The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Learning Curve Adult Education program has presented its popular life drawing course for more than a decade. Now it returns with a special edition student art exhibit presented in…
Christopher Street West L.A. Pride Roughly 400,000 spectators and participants gathered in West Hollywood for this year’s Christopher Street West L.A. Pride celebration. The parade featured 130 entries that lined up on Santa Monica Boulevard from Crescent Heights Boulevard to Robertson Boulevard. Elaborate floats, marchers and convertible vehicles showcased politicians, retail stores, banks, bars, and clubs…
OC ACTIVIST’S DEATH STILL A MYSTERY Authorities continue to investigate the death of transgender activist Zoraida “Ale” Reyes whose body was found behind a Dairy Queen in Anaheim last month. The death, reports the LA Times, is being investigated as suspicious, although authorities said there were no immediate signs of foul play. An autopsy has…
CREATING HIV-RESISTANT CELLS New research may lead to personalized gene therapy. BY ORLY LYONNE Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have developed a method to create HIV resistance by editing the genes of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), reports “The Advocate” at www.advocate.com Previous research had revealed that approximately one percent of people…
A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN While serving as Grand Marshal of Key West Pride last month, Rob Smith rethinks his position on religion and spirituality. BY ROB SMITH In early May, I found out that the organizers of Key West’s 2014 Pride Event had selected me as this year’s Grand Marshal. A little over a…
Cultural empathy for Lawyers With LGBT Clients Without knowledge and understanding of the LGBT community, an attorney may not be giving accurate advice to his/ her LGBT client. BY DAVID HAKIMFAR I’ve met thousands of lawyers… lawyers from different places, practicing every kind of law, handling all kinds of cases. And while California is awash…
The Center For Reproductive Health & Gynecology When you walk into the Center for Reproductive Health & Gynecology (CRH&G) you encounter a sense of calm that you might not expect when you’re trying to start a family.Photos of hundreds of babies line the walls of the office… babies that were born thanks to Dr. Sam…
Mexican soccer fans who yell “puto,” the Spanish for “faggot,” at the other team’s goalie every time there’s an important kick—need not worry. Soccer authorities have decided the word is not offensive in this “context.” … What exactly is it about a soccer game that turns the “f” word into a harmless catcall? You tell…
BANNING “GAY PANIC” DEFENSE A bill making its way through the California Legislature would prevent defendants from using a so-called “gay panic” or “trans panic” defense to escape murder charges. AB2501 heads to the state Senate after passing the Assembly on a 42-16 vote. California criminal law considers killings done in the heat of passion…
