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EROTIC ARTIST WILL GRIFFITH: 'I'm Gay'
BY DALLAS BIANCHI
LOS ANGELES - Erotic artist Will Griffith, also known as "Epicenia" in underground art circles, released a statement today saying he's Jewish and gay.
Griffith, who is best known for his erotic photographs, homoerotic renderings and his political protest painting "Naked Aggression", said he is gay.
"I think I have always hated stereotypes and because of that I have never liked placing myself in a box that I would have to climb out of later", Griffith told The Bianchi Cafe' in an email statement this morning, "I really thank Alysyn (Bourque) for helping me in recognizing my respective place in her life and in coming to grips with the fact that we are who we are. It is ironic that it took a lesbian woman to say I'm very, very gay."
Griffith said he officially came-out and announced his homosexuality in 1994 in his published work "Tears in the Corner", featured by The Stonewall Union, Columbus. He said that at the time the thought of being gay and having a family seemed opposed to each other and so he withdrew from the "gay label" and would go only as far to say he was bisexual.
"Alysyn and I are family. We raise our children and are always honest with them", Griffith said, "I think we are all happier and more content in knowing where we stand and who we are," Griffith said.
The relationship between Griffith and Bourque has been a rocky one. The two now support one another in their respective artistic and sexual lives. Bourque, a poet, is preparing for the March 2012 release of her first published collection of poems, 'Blacklight Chronicles".
"I am proud of her. We are best friends and support one another in everything we do', said Griffith, "I just thought I owed it to my friends, our family and the public who has supported my art to share with them the fact that I am gay. I'm queer, proud of it and happier in knowing that it is no longer a question".
Bourque recently ended her romantic relationship with Griffith, announcing she is focused on a romantic relationship with a woman.
"She adores and loves women. I appreciate women on another level, but I love men. It's just who we are. Somehow, it has worked", Griffith added.
Griffith has also been in a series of gay sex tapes, where he is seen performing oral sex on another man and masturbating. Masturbation is a major theme of Griffith's homoerotic art and he contends the tapes were all meant for a performance film he is doing for an upcoming exhibit. Griffith said the clips were leaked by an assistant. He also admitted in a recent interview that he had once worked as a call boy and transvestite prostitute.
LOS ANGELES - Erotic artist Will Griffith, also known as "Epicenia" in underground art circles, released a statement today saying he's Jewish and gay.
Griffith, who is best known for his erotic photographs, homoerotic renderings and his political protest painting "Naked Aggression", said he is gay.
"I think I have always hated stereotypes and because of that I have never liked placing myself in a box that I would have to climb out of later", Griffith told The Bianchi Cafe' in an email statement this morning, "I really thank Alysyn (Bourque) for helping me in recognizing my respective place in her life and in coming to grips with the fact that we are who we are. It is ironic that it took a lesbian woman to say I'm very, very gay."
Griffith said he officially came-out and announced his homosexuality in 1994 in his published work "Tears in the Corner", featured by The Stonewall Union, Columbus. He said that at the time the thought of being gay and having a family seemed opposed to each other and so he withdrew from the "gay label" and would go only as far to say he was bisexual.
"Alysyn and I are family. We raise our children and are always honest with them", Griffith said, "I think we are all happier and more content in knowing where we stand and who we are," Griffith said.
The relationship between Griffith and Bourque has been a rocky one. The two now support one another in their respective artistic and sexual lives. Bourque, a poet, is preparing for the March 2012 release of her first published collection of poems, 'Blacklight Chronicles".
"I am proud of her. We are best friends and support one another in everything we do', said Griffith, "I just thought I owed it to my friends, our family and the public who has supported my art to share with them the fact that I am gay. I'm queer, proud of it and happier in knowing that it is no longer a question".
Bourque recently ended her romantic relationship with Griffith, announcing she is focused on a romantic relationship with a woman.
"She adores and loves women. I appreciate women on another level, but I love men. It's just who we are. Somehow, it has worked", Griffith added.
Griffith has also been in a series of gay sex tapes, where he is seen performing oral sex on another man and masturbating. Masturbation is a major theme of Griffith's homoerotic art and he contends the tapes were all meant for a performance film he is doing for an upcoming exhibit. Griffith said the clips were leaked by an assistant. He also admitted in a recent interview that he had once worked as a call boy and transvestite prostitute.
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The Bianchi Cafe January 27, 2012
