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“My art has a lot in common with drag queens. It’s about that yearning that sparkles and goes away quick. So this is all about catching light… It’s always about moments.” —Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt
For our Pride Month programming, particularly as we approach the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, we can think of no better artist to feature than Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt. Born in 1948 in Elizabeth, NJ, Lanigan-Schmidt often refers to his own work as knick-knacks, in its deliberate embrace of kitsch and use of tacky materials. Yet, incorporating both queer and religious themes in his collages, installations, and sculptures, he is not just a pioneering gay artist, he is also considered an icon of the gay rights movement. “If anyone can be considered the foremost authority on the historic 1969 Stonewall uprising,” wrote Kerry Lauerman in the Washington Post, on the occasion of the 2016 dedication of Stonewall National Monument, “is it Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt” – he is one of the few recognized veterans of the riots still living.
In 2012-2013, Lanigan-Schmidt was the subject of a survey at MoMA PS1, Tender Love Among the Junk, which also produced this visit with him in his studio. He talks about his upbringing and the beginning of his art career in New York.
