Cruising the Archive: Queer Art and Culture in Los Angeles, 1945–1980

October 1, 2011 – April 1, 2012

A three-part exhibition of artworks alongside archival items culled from the collections at ONE Archives at the USC Libraries:

Wink Wink
ONE Gallery, West Hollywood
October 1, 2011 – April 1, 2012

Rare Looks
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries
October 1, 2011 – June 23, 2012

Queer Worldmaking
USC Doheny Memorial Library Treasure Room, University Park
January 11 – May 31, 2012

Co-curated with Mia Locks 

Cruising the Archive: Queer Art and Culture in Los Angeles, 1945–1980 is a three-part exhibition that explores the relationship between artistic practices and LGBTQ histories through artworks, objects, and archival documents culled from the collections at ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries. By presenting works of art alongside archival materials from the social and historical context of their production, the exhibition explores the divergent, ambiguous, and sometimes humorous ways in which queer artists and activists in Los Angeles have contributed to the aesthetic and political field of cultural production. Cruising the Archive presents artworks by both established and unknown artists and is the most comprehensive showing of ONE Archives’ art collection to date.

For information on exhibition locations and programs at cruisingthearchive.org. 

Cruising the Archive is guest organized by David Frantz and Mia Locks and is a part of Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980. This unprecedented collaboration, initiated by the Getty, brings together more than sixty cultural institutions from across Southern California to tell the story of the birth of the L.A. art scene. 


Sidney Bronstein, Unknown (Athlete Supporting Seven Youths), 1943. Oil on paper, 9.5 x 8 in. ONE Archives at the USC Libraries