Drawn Together
With their queer artists' collective Boys Be Good, Christopher Cunetto and Jason Edward Tucker are finding that there's strength – and artistry – in numbers
Boys be Good arts collective: Tucker
(Photo by Todd Franson)
MW: Do you have to be accepted into the group?
TUCKER: Yeah, generally.
CUNETTO: We are always looking for artists to work with and collaborate with and showcase the work of, but we look for a strong portfolio. It’s been a process. We’ve asked artists to come on as full-time collaborators, which just means if they accept that proposition we expect them to show with us when we have exhibitions, to contribute when we organize performance nights, to be available when we organize panel discussions. Those core contributors have a special place within the group because they have more responsibilities and they’re tasked with making work that relates to the themes we investigate.
MW: Do you both curate the shows?
CUNETTO: We curate sensibilities more than we curate actual art works.
TUCKER: We put a whole lot of trust in our artists.
CUNETTO: I think it puts a lot of life into the collective because you have the unexpected come out with every art exhibition in our movement. And that’s where a lot of life is in the collective. We bring together people that we want to work with and we want to work together. And that ends up being really productive.
MW: From your perspective, do artists have to have a bare minimum of talent to be part of your collective? And how does one determine that talent?
CUNETTO: That’s a big question in the arts generally.
TUCKER: You don’t want to discourage somebody, obviously. We don’t want to come from the standpoint of saying that your art is not good enough for this collective, because I would never see myself saying that to somebody. But there is a certain sensibility or aesthetic realm that we’ve been feeding into and if the work that is submitted to us doesn’t really, I don’t want to say fit in….
CUNETTO: I think the thing that we look for is: Is this person motivated in what they’re doing?
TUCKER: Are they consistent?
CUNETTO: Yeah, consistent. In their product. In their work ethic. Are they invested in their technique? Are they good at their technique? Are they invested in growth? Do they appear committed to making good work that’s emotionally and visually and academically and politically engaged? Those are markers of strong artists more than “Does it look good? Does it look commercially viable?” Artwork can take so many different forms, but really it boils down to the people.
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