I wish I had heard about this sooner.
All these years later, we still remember the horrific murder of Matthew Shepard, who became a symbol of anti-gay violence.
“The Shepard Cycle,” by Nomi Silverman of Glenville, a section of Greenwich, Conn., created a suite of prints in 2008 that detail this narrative. Silverman’s prints are on view on the third floor of Beacon Hall at Housatonic Community College through Monday, Feb. 28.
The installation is sponsored by the Housatonic Museum of Art and HCC’s Gay/Straight Alliance.
Silverman structured the persecution and suffering of Shepard much like the Stations of the Cross.
“I took liberties with the images, and moved and even eliminated one, but they are essentially there,” says Silverman.
The works on paper are created using both lithography and etching.
Silverman says, “The idea is that each medium is slightly different – allowing for a push and pull of emotions. Etching is a very violent medium, using acid on a plate to eat away at the metal. Lithography, the ‘gentler’ medium, allows for more nuances and a beautiful drawing-like quality which is perfect for the more subtle scenes.”
Ms. Silverman sees the series as a continuation of her impulse to address social and political issues.
“Over the years, [my art] has dealt with the origins of hate and how it spirals through the generations into violence, so often against those perceived as outsiders,” she says.
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