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“Relationship,” a Photography Exhibition by Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst Documents Private Moments of the Transgender Couple

On view at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art from April 20 to June 26, 2016, the exhibition is part of the Queer Productions Series

 

EUGENE, Ore. -- (March 24, 2016) –  The photography series “Relationship” by artists Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst will be on view April 20 to June 26, 2016 at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on the University of Oregon campus.  “Relationship” chronicles Drucker and Ernst's private moments, from 2008 to 2013, as a transgender couple, during which time Ernst transitioned from female to male and Drucker transitioned from male to female.

 

Originally debuted at the 2014 Whitney Biennial, the exhibition features 26 photographs from their ongoing project. Throughout the intimate snapshots, Drucker and Ernst portray each other and themselves as both whole and fragmented subjects – figures and bodies obscured by objects or reflected in the mirror. The photographs provide a voyeuristic view into a private relationship.

 

The exhibition also includes “She Gone Rogue,” the experimental, semi-autobiographical film that they created together. “She Gone Rogue” engages a world of dream-like magical realism and is a transfeminine take on “The Hero’s Journey,” where time, space, age and gender collapse in a whirlpool of divergent possibilities. The film features Drucker and Ernst with legendary transgender performers Holly Woodlawn, Vaginal Davis, and Flawless Sabrina.

 

Drucker will make two public appearances in Eugene during the exhibition.

 

On May 3, at 7 p.m., Schnitzer Cinema’s Queer Productions continues its film series at the Wayward Lamb at 150 West Broadway, with Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey's “Women in Revolt” with introduction by Drucker. On May 4, at 7 p.m., “The Video Art of Zackary Drucker” with introduction by Drucker will be shown at the JSMA on the University of Oregon campus. Drucker will be screening samples of her video art, including “At Least You Know You Exist,” “Lost Lake,” and “Fish.” Both events are free to attend.

 

Drucker is an independent media, photography, and performance artist whose work has been exhibited internationally in museums, galleries, and film festivals, including the Whitney Biennial, MoMA PS1, the Hammer Museum, and the Art Gallery of Ontario. As a transgender artist, Drucker attempts to break down the way we think about gender, sexuality, and seeing.

 

Ernst is a filmmaker and artist who works across forms and modalities to investigate transgender identity, masculinity, and the intersection of gender and narrative construction. Drucker and Ernst are co-producers of the Amazon TV series “Transparent.”

 

“Relationship” is made possible with support from a JSMA Academic Support Grant, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Division of Equity and Inclusion, and is part of the “Queer Productions” series, organized by the Department of English.

 

Queer Productions is programmed by Richard Herskowitz, director of Cinema Pacific and JSMA Curator of Media Arts, with the help of Professor Quinn Miller.  Queer Productions is supported by the Department of English, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Office of Academic Affairs, a JSMA Academic Support Grant, Center for the Study of Women in Society, and the Cinema Studies Program.

 

More information on Queer Productions can be found at https://jsma.uoregon.edu/QueerProductions

About the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art

The University of Oregon's Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is a premier Pacific Northwest museum for exhibitions and collections of historic and contemporary art based in a major university setting. The mission of the museum is to enhance the University of Oregon’s academic mission and to further the appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts for the general public.  The JSMA features significant collections galleries devoted to art from China, Japan, Korea, the Americas and Europe as well as changing special exhibition galleries.  The JSMA is one of six museums in Oregon accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

 

The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is located on the University of Oregon campus at 1430 Johnson Lane. Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens. Free admission is given to ages 18 and under, JSMA members, college students with ID, and University of Oregon faculty, staff and students. For information, contact the JSMA, 541-346-3027.

 

About the University of Oregon

The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.

 

Contact:
JSMA: Debbie Williamson Smith, 541-346-0942, debbiews@uoregon.edu

 

Links: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, http://jsma.uoregon.edu