There were many interesting pieces in Club 57 but the one that really intrigued me was an untitled painting by Richard Hambleton in the lower gallery. It features a indistinct, shadowy shape that is bending at the knees. The painting utilizes black and white acrylic on canvas. When I first saw this painting, it was the shadowy figure that stuck out to me. It gave an ominous feeling, similar to the one you get when you’re watching a scary movie and you know the serial killer is behind the door. As I looked closer, however, I saw how the artist spread the painting in a circular fashion, forming almost concentric circles. At the top of his work was where the center of the circles and there almost seems to be a sphere. The shadowy person looks like he is holding up the sphere. This made me think of Atlas holding up the sky. The only problem was that the shadowy figure’s stance was not that of someone holding up something heavy.
Later on, as I was leaving the exhibit, I saw the gallery description at the entrance. It talked about the origin of Club 57 and what the theme of the pieces were. When I read that the club closed in 1983, I remembered that this piece was also made in 1983. The club was closed during the AIDS era, and many of the artists featured in the gallery would have felt the impact of this. As I viewed the art piece from this new perspective, I thought that there was a possibility that the shadowy person wasn’t shadowy because he was an antagonist. I felt that there was a possibility that he represented the people who were affected by AIDS, and the way he was drawn was because he was dancing. From my viewpoint, this painting shows the strength of the multiple artists and club goers in Club 57.
You give a really thought-provoking and frankly, quite lovely interpretation of the piece. Identifying the shadowy figure as a club goer with HIV, I feel embodies what a lot of Club 57 members were likely feeling at the time. They were experiencing great tragedy in a place that had always been incredibly joyful and carefree. The AIDS crisis made it so that even as these people tried to forget their worries in a place like Club 57, a darkness seemed to follow them. I agree very much so that the fact that they try to forget at all, that they try to continue living and dancing as normal, is an act of immense strength.