Dashiell?s monumental Queer Mysteries

Currently on display at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts second floor gallery space is the moving work of 12 Visual Aid artists in a group show entitled, “Visual Aid at Sixteen with David Cannon Dashiell’s Queer Mysteries.” The event is in celebration of Visual Aid’s 16th anniversary, and the show’s diverse and uncompromising work certainly reinforces the organization’s validity as a prominent arts organization, capable of fostering intense and powerful imagery from the artists it serves.

Visual Aid is a Bay Area non-profit oganization that enables  artists with life-threatening illnesses to continue creating art by providing supplies, gallery space, career development, support and encouragement. It was started by a group of collectors, art dealers and artists in 1989 in response to the AIDS epidemic, and has since proven to be an integral force of artistic passion and vision.

David Cannon Dashiell is one of Visual Aid’s most renowned artists and his Queer Mysteries saga is a highlight of the show. Dashiell created the multi-paneled piece in 1993; the same year he died of complications from AIDS. It is currently on loan from the permanent collection at SFMOMA.

Dashiell’s ambitious creation consists of a narration via acrylic on plexiglass that spans from wall to wall in the room where it is displayed. The story that unfolds is a semi-interpretation of Pompeii’s “Villas of the Mysteries” frieze and the frescoes depicting Dionysiac ceremonies. The painting presents characters of an alien superhero appearance performing a variety of sex acts, tests and surgeries on willing humans. Dashiell maintains a dichotomy of whimsical and morose tones; the viewer is invited in by the cartoonesque design and vibrant colors, but taken aback by depictions of cannibalism, Frankenstein assemblages and rampant mutilations. The effect is jarring yet inexplicably mesmerizing. I found myself leaving the room seemingly satisfied, only to go back for more.

This piece is supported by the work of many other talented Visual Aid artists. David Faulk’s (otherwise known as Mrs. Vera) photolithographic prints of aerial scenes from different states juxtaposed with Lulu and Nancy comic strip characters are particularly impressive. When asked what inspired Faulk, he responded, “While I’ve always done work about people’s problems, I’m usually happier when leaving the viewer in an uncertain gray area; but I’ll admit the shift in the political climate after Bush first took the White House makes me want to put a name on the worst offenders of incomplete thinking and the damage that they do.” He chose the ‘60s era prints because he loves “how they capture a sense of what makes this country so strong, our vast resources and open potential. They were a perfect starting point to look at issues of corporate mismanagement and profiteering, as well as cross-eyed nationalism in conflict with global health.”

Faulk also described the significance of using Lulu and Nancy as central characters in many of his pieces.  People can identify the characters, he explained, but only vaguely. The character actually serves as a stand-in for the viewer, Faulk explained, so the viewer needs to be able to sympathize and relate to her. If the viewer can relate to the situations in his pieces, then they can consider possible dramas that they haven’t directly experienced. This in turn”gives voices to people that aren’t as represented as they could be.”

This show is definitely about giving voices to people who need to be heard, and Yerba Buena has consisitently been a venue that supports this notion. Rene de Guzman is the Visual Arts Curator for Yerba Buena and an enthusiastic supporter of Visual Aid. An artist himself who moved to the Bay Area from the Philippines at age four, he knew that he wanted to be an artist “ by age two.” He earned a BFA from UC Berkeley years later and immersed himself in the Bay Area art scene, becoming a force at Yerba Buena from it’s opening in 1993. He emphasized the importance of Visual Aid and how Yerba Buena is the ideal forum because it’s a “hybrid entity” and “an intersection of the community.”

One theme prevalent throughout the show is best posed in a quote from Dashiell posted outside the room with his paintings:  “Why was I unable to draw until I was diagnosed with HIV?” de Guzman also made a similar point when I asked him about the caliber of art that Visual Aid artists’ produce, saying, “Nothing focuses the mind more than a hanging.”

It’s interesting how when our mortality is something tangible, a date you can put on a calendar, the urgency beomes real and people start realizing they need to make their voices heard, now. The beauty of art is its timelessness, unlike the pithiness of life. By creating art we are effectively leaving behind social commentary for others to keep questioning, to not forget about and move on from. Art continually reminds us to keep thinking—to keep demanding answers and results.

Artist Faulk reinforced this point, saying, “Things like Dashiell’s Queer Mysteries and work done by people facing major health issues can strip away so much of the extraneous baggage, because that sense of immediacy in the need to get it right, is (for me) one of the hallmarks of all good work. Why anyone does anything is an interesting question in itself, but not knowing how much time you have to get there is a powerful lens when it comes to focusing whatever it is a person has to say.”

In terms of “getting it right,” it’s a concern of Artist Elliot Linwood how the media’s current portrayal of AIDS is certainly off the mark. “You would think from the many ad campaigns that AIDS is over,” said Linwood, “but far from it, people are just dying slower. There is no cure for this pandemic yet.” Hopefully this show will at the very least continue to remind people of this fact.

“Visual Aid at Sixteen with David Cannon Dashiell’s Queer Mysteries” is on display at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts until June 26. The gallery hours are Thu–Sat, 12–8 pm; Sun, Tue, Wed, 12–5 pm. The general gallery admission is $6 and is free the first Tuesday of every month.