Performer Holly Hughes talks about struggles of ‘NEA Four’
“A lesbian, a feminist and a couple of fags went to the Supreme Court,” and the University community heard about it firsthand this weekend.
Performance artist Holly Hughes put her struggles as a member of that group center stage in “Preaching to the Perverted” at the Shaver Theatre Friday and Saturday nights.
Hughes and three other artists, whose work tackled sexual, political and gender issues, were denied grants from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1990 on accusations of indecency. They became known as the “NEA Four.”
“I felt I stumbled onto the stage in the Jesse Helms show,” she said in a workshop for the Women’s and Gender Studies Graduate Student Conference Saturday morning. “I was a visual aid — second lesbian from the left.”
According to “The New York Times,” the NEA yanked the artists’ grants because they were “known for performing in the nude and making provocative comments about sexual relations, including homosexual and lesbian sex.”
“Preaching” details Hughes’ struggle with American democracy, and her professional and personal identity throughout the “NEA Four’s” court battle.
“The work is about questions of citizenship and questions of free speech,” Hughes said. “It’s not just about who gets to speak about what. It’s also about who gets to hear you.”
The “NEA Four” won their case through several appeals, but lost when the federal government appealed the case to the Supreme Court in 1998.
Hughes said some of the piece focused on “outing” the Supreme Court.
She jokes about the court’s clandestine nature and at one point compares the justices to a group of drunken Shriners haranguing the attorneys.
Hughes also describes her struggle for equal rights as a lesbian throughout the performance.
Awash in rainbows and with a Tinky-Winky doll in hand, she mocks the ultra-conservative idea of a “gay agenda.”
Later in the performance, she reconnects with the audience during a quiet plea for equality.
“I make certain assumptions in my work, like gay people deserve equal rights, and they don’t have them,” she said. “I’m not interested in making the argument, because I just assume this is true.”
Hughes’ appearance was a huge step to increase awareness of gay issues, said Connolly Ferrell, a history senior.
“I thought it was awesome that a renowned lesbian came to campus,” she said. “LSU isn’t the most open-minded campus, and I think it was needed.”
Hughes’ social consciousness and her quality as a performer led Leigh Clemons, an associate professor of theater who teaches women’s and gender studies, to make “Preaching” an assignment for her students.
“My focus is on media and performance and gender issues, and for a generation raised on movies and TV, they need to see this,” Clemons said. “I think her message can really empower students, faculty and staff to speak up.”
Hughes’ reputation as a performer inspired Katie Crawford, a theatre junior, to attend the workshop.
“As a theatre major, I try to expose myself to as much as possible,” she said. “Her goals and drive are inspiring. I wanted to hear her story.”
Hughes’ goal is a simple but perpetual quest.
“I’m an artist because I want to change the world,” she said. “I think art is that place where you can raise questions, trouble the waters and present those points of view swept under the rug.”
Rebekah Monson