PRIDE GALLERY
Original Pride • 31” x 88” • Acrylic on Acrylic Letters
Original Pride is a visual commemoration of the Stonewall Uprising, which is a seminal event in the fight for LGBTQIA+ rights in the United States. The spontaneous rebellion took place on June 28, 1969 in Greenwich Village, NYC and is remembered annually across our nation during Pride Month.
The artwork incorporates elements from the incident as a historic reminder for our community that the civil rights and freedoms we enjoy today were earned through activism and community engagement – the foundations of our democracy. Within the letters of PRIDE, one can see city ordinances, newspaper articles, and graffiti taken from that extraordinary moment in time. These are enhanced by the distressed application of paint over an unlikely rainbow painted in shaded hues to symbolize the complex reality of the lives and the struggle for equality.
The letters for this project came from the former American Apparel signage that was taken down when The Studio Door art gallery and artists studios occupied the building.
I created Original Pride specifically for the 50th anniversary of Stonewall. It was publicly exhibited during San Diego Pride 2019.
Patric Stillman
My art rises out of my personal experience as a gay man and ideally transcends its specifics to reach my brothers and sisters in the LGBTQIA+ family. It's truths reflect my community’s gift of authenticity to the world. That gift offers a much needed perspective outside the norm. Even when my art explores darker themes, the underlying message is about honesty and self-acceptance. My Pride artworks portray a sense of continuity and connectedness for the LGBTQIA+ family and serve as a civic education to the community at large. I believe that these works contribute to and celebrate diversity for our greater community.
