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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

Performance, Protest and Politics: The Art of Gilbert Baker

July 16, 2020 – Sept 20, 2021
989 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94103, United States

Kansas-born artist Gilbert Baker, who died in 2017, once said, “unlike Dorothy, when the tornado came, I ran right for it, saying, ‘Take me away!’” The man didn’t tread lightly, blurring the lines between artist, activist, protester, and performer. Baker served in the U.S. Army in 1970, as a medic in San Francisco. After his honorable discharge, he stayed in the city to fight for LGBTQ+ rights. It was Baker who conceived, in 1978, the rainbow flag we associate with Gay Pride. In 1994, Baker sewed a mile long rainbow flag for a Pride Parade. “When all else fails” he often said, “art is the ultimate weapon.” This exhibition places that out-and-proud flag in the context of Baker’s body of work. —E.C.

Gilbert Baker, wearing his International Flags gown, stands with Sister Sadie, 1987. Photo: Robert Pruzan, collection of the GLBT Historical Society.

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