Shelf Shelf is a publishing imprint and collaborative graphic design practice operated by Lucas Reif and Austin White.
In discussing queer presentation, I am reminded of queer ‘visibility,’ a point of contention that has been rumbling around my mind for months now. Looking backwards at queer activism in the United States, I am interested in the drive for visibility that many direct action groups made one of their core tenets. To many, being seen by both legislative structures and a sweeping notion of mass culture is a goal, though it just allows queer struggles to be swept under the rug of heteronormative frameworks we are so opposed to. And as queer identities become increasingly co-opted, I ask myself, Do I really want straight people to understand me, much less see me?
— Gabrielle Welsh, Editor
ON / Being Read positions the ‘read’ as a rhetorical-investigative framework to question the need for a queerness that is outwardly legible. A curated selection of twelve artists and writers share their own reads in ON / Being Read, with expressions running the continuum of feeling not outwardly “queer enough” to quieting the anxiety of ostracism for being “too queer.”
Edited by Gabrielle Welsh. Contributions by Elise Schierbeek, Gabe Howell, Rosie Accola, Madison Davidson, Seb Choe, Jessie McCarty
Frankie, Rivka Yeker, Caroline Cash, Eric Aldieri, Zoe Kaplan.
Dimensions | 6.75 x 9 inches |
Binding | Perfect bound |
Pages | 60 |
Edition | 100 copies |
Printing | Risograph |