Jess T. Dugan's Exhibit "Coupled" Tells, Doesn't Ask

“Coupled”
Polaroid Images by Jess Dugan
Gallery Kayafas
450 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02118
Opened March 5, 2010


Jess T. Dugan’s photography exhibit at Gallery Kayafas isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but hey, what else is new.  Depending on your tastes, that might be the case for several of the other shows opening at various galleries at 450 Harrison Avenue this week.

Titled “Coupled,” Dugan’s show turns gender identity upside down, or at the very least, sideways.

The way Dugan describes it, what the individuals that form each couple have in common is “ some connection to a female identity. For some of them that meant they were both female-identified; for some of them that meant they were transgender-identified in one way or another - male to female or female to male. Everyone in the project has some type of queer identity and some connection to a female identity.”

Newbury Street may not be ready for this show but gallery owner Arlette Kayafas got past the subject matter that’s a challenging draw for a gallery audience generally perceived as heterosexual.

“It’s remarkable to think how young she is and the quality of her work. I feel fortunate to present this show. I presented a collection of black and white photographs of her family and friends in 2009. This is the first show of its kind in Massachusetts.”

Dugan has a BFA in photography from Massachusetts College of Art and in 2010 earned a Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies, with a concentration in Museum Studies from Harvard University. She graduated with distinction and departmental honors.

Gender ambiguity extends to Dugan. She identifies herself as  “a queer variant - not as trans but existing in an in-between space.” She’s active in LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender) and Trans-sexual communities and is totally comfortable within them.

(Personal note. I’ve known Jess’s mother for about ten years and met Jess, now 24, when she was a teenager coming to grips with her sexuality. Make no mistake about it, these transitions take guts to navigate. Jess uses her talent to document and celebrate people who happen to be lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, or transgendered.)

“People trust Jess will portray them in a non-judgmental way,” Kayafas says, “she’s so comfortable with herself that her subjects feel at ease with her.”

That’s a good thing for her subjects. Feeling at ease with a 20 x 24 Polaroid camera (one of only five in the world) almost eight feet high with a bellows that stretched out five feet could have been intimidating. Waiting for the bank of six strobe lights to illuminate the room with the intensity of “the big bang” might have been like waiting in line to get on roller coaster.

Dugan’s set up is brilliant. She asked the couples to look directly into the camera with a neutral expression. Something remarkable happened. They let go. What you see is not only the positive image of the Polaroid photograph but also an intimate image that seems to bore into their souls. Vulnerable, brave, loving, friendly, bonded, they clearly trusted Dugan to tell their story.

Each of the 19 photos is the same size (22x26 inches), hung with the same framing, the same distance from one another. The rich burgundy background she uses for every photo imbues them the aura of warmth that seems an extension of the connection between each couple.

"These are one of a kind photographs. It isn't possible to manipulate the image with the Polaroid process," Ms. Kayafas says.  The images will be sold as a set, not individually.

"There are plans to photograph the originals with a 4x5 camera, scan the images, and print them 14x20 inches with a high quality Epson printer that uses ground up paint for color," she says.

Dugan’s work is quietly political. She’s not a bomb thrower. No matter what your response might be to these couples on the street, viewing them in the gallery’s quiet luminous space gives you the chance to see them on their own terms. The portraits reflect on the fact that the couples represent one of humanity’s most persistent manifestations - two people connected emotionally and spiritually to one another.

After a while I stopped sorting out who is who gender-wise and began to look at the pairs as a couple of people. I speculated how they connected emotionally and about their brave ongoing journeys. In the comfort of the gallery, it felt liberating to contemplate life choices that are so different from my own hetero culture. These are painful, sometimes dangerous choices. They’re also life affirming.

Today’s news stories about same-sex marriage and “don’t ask, don’t tell” in the military remind me that these issues are ever closer to mainstream culture. Jess Dugan’s portraits represent part of a narrative unspooling in every city and town in America as individuals search their psyches and emerge as the person they were born to become.

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

Comments

[Diana Cullum-Dugan]

Paul - you got it! Thanks so much for your sincerity, love and magnificant way with words in telling the story of Coupled. Love ya!

[Kim Cromwell]

Congratulations to Jess on breaking new ground with such grace. Paul, thanks for bringing this beautiful show to our attention.