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Raoul Bonn- Lafayette Antonetti (born May 7th, 1996) is an American Gay Transgender artist and is bilingual in English and Spanish. Their work focuses on Queer history and American history and how this past affects us in the modern era. Antonetti’s pronouns are they/them and further work can be view at vegaaaltair.blogspot.com and [https://www.instagram.com/_kremdelacreme_/

Early Life and Education:
Raoul Bonn- Lafayette Antonetti was born May 7th, 1996 and grew up in Gaithersburg, MD. Their mother is a published author and father is a lawyer. Antonetti is the second oldest of ten children. Growing up Saturday morning cartoons created a lot of inspiration as they watched stories with characters who overcame struggles which felt relatable and combined storytelling with art. During high school Antonetti participated in improv and theater which was a gateway to current interests in creating spaces. After attending and graduating from the Academy of the Holy Cross in 2014, they enrolled in Flagler College in St. Augustine FL where they are due to graduate December of 2017 with a degree in Fine Arts (BFA) and minors in Illustration and Art History. During their years at Flagler, Bonn looked more into Art History and is trying to continue the legacy of those who came before them and find their own legacy within Queer artists.

Career:
Antonetti deals with language and concepts, their role in communicating ideas, the documentation of events, and the question of how they can be presented. The primary focus of the works is on Queer history and American history and how this past affects us in the modern era. Music and lighting are used in conjunction with the works in order to try and create a psychological space for the viewers. The idea of a shared experience is conveyed not only through a fabricated space, but through an attempt at creating a common history. They seek to elevate a Queer history to that, if not greater than, that of the “canonical” history we all know. These pieces appropriate text from various historical documents, musicals, and art works and re-contextualize them to form new work. The role of time and mortality is emphasized by the documents/text themselves, as well as the presentation of the pieces; i.e., printing on old discarded text as versus other papers, projection of images through the use of older projectors, and the styles of music. The works seek to create a liminal space: timeless or apart from history. Their work contains printmaking, projector paper, collage, performance pieces, Linoleum, wood, and PETG plates. In many works, font is used in Antonetti’s work. For Antonetti, they see the type as engaging. Viewers will inadvertently read words when they see them and creates an interesting interaction between piece and viewer. Monochromatic or black and white images are a strong suit in works they see color can be messy and it becomes more aesthetically pleasing to see in the black and white. The creative process for Antonetti sometimes starts with thinking of some words, or finding some words in a text that stand out. Spur of the moment decisions, then afterword’s researching to find out why the words or space may have been so compelling. Usually research and creation happen around the same time. Inspiration for Antonetti comes from censored, controversial texts and/or historic figures. People who are praised, why they are and why they should or shouldn’t be praised. History that has been ignored, isn’t really taught, or has been forgotten. A lot of inspiration comes from performance; classical music, dance, theater, concert, as well as documentation of events; diaries, maps, newspapers, letters, and personal accounts. Felix Gonzalez-Torres is a large inspiration for them as well as Joseph Kosuth, Jenny Holzer, Mark Rothko, and Carrie Mae Weems. The work relates back to the viewers because it is primarily of a history we all know, or a communal space, so the viewer experiencing it creates a relationship with the art and the artist. They want people to learn to see hidden history and to acknowledge the wrongs of the past and look to the future. In the future Antonetti will be showing more letters and personal correspondence in their artwork.

Category:ArtAndFeminism 2017 Category:Art Category:Gay artists Category:Transgender artist

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