Jerome Caja

Jerome Caja (1958-1995) was an American mixed-media painter and Queercore performance artist in San Francisco, California in the 1980s and early 1990s.[1]

On the cover of the June 1989 issue of Homocore, Caja is shown in "post-apocalyptic deconstructive drag" during a show at the Deaf Club, San Francisco.
Jerome Caja
Born(1958-01-20)January 20, 1958
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
DiedNovember 3, 1995(1995-11-03) (aged 37)
San Francisco, California, USA
NationalityAmerican
EducationCleveland State University (Bachelor of Fine Arts)
San Francisco Art Institute (Master of Fine Arts)
Known formixed media
performance art
MovementQueercore

Early life and education

Jerome Caja was born on January 20, 1958 in Cleveland, Ohio. Raised in a strict Catholic family, Caja was one of 11 sons. He referred to his family as a family full of jocks,[2] although he himself was a frail sickly child. Caja having being raised in a strict Catholic household was early on heavily influenced by the imagery of saints and martyrs.[3] Caja graduated from St. Edward High School, an all-boys Catholic school, where he suffered poor grades due to dyslexia. Caja began his college education at Cuyahoga Community College[4] and later attended Cleveland State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1984. He then moved to San Francisco to attend the San Francisco Art Institute and graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1986.[5]

Career

In the late 1980s, Caja became a well-known artistic personality within the radical gay scene in San Francisco.[6] Caja performed as a drag queen and go-go dancer in San Francisco's queer punk nightclubs,[5] where his performance art has been described as "post-apocalyptic deconstructive drag."[6] In one Easter performance at Club Uranus, Caja in drag performed an elaborate reenactment of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.[7]

Caja began by producing ceramic sculptures and then he moved on to create paintings.[8] Caja crafted miniature mixed-media artworks which he created from everyday materials, especially those used by drag queens such as nail polish, sequins, lace and glitter.[5] Caja was a fan of makeup even before he was diagnosed with AIDS, so he transferred his own affection for makeup straight into his artistic work.[9] Many of Caja's works were influenced by Catholic iconography and satirized Christian morality.[1] Professor of Communication Fred Turner described Caja's paintings as "fragments of a private allegory – often dizzyingly grotesque, but also glorious, gentle and sad."[10] While in his other artwork, he tried to express his own fearlessness.[9]

Death

According to Caja, he tested positive for HIV around 1989 and began to show symptoms of sickness around 1992.[11] Caja as well suffered from CMV retinitis as result of the diagnosis. In August and September 1995, the Archives of American Art recorded an oral history interview with Caja. He died of AIDS in San Francisco on November 3, 1995. His memorial service was held at the Hole in the Wall gay bar in South of Market, San Francisco.[6]

Artworks

Caja's art is located in the New York Public Library and the Los Angeles County Museum.[4] The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) twice provided exhibits of paintings by Caja. Before his death, Caja gifted his unsold artworks to the SFMOMA.[12] Caja's personal papers and effects are archived in the Smithsonian Institution.[13] In addition to the locations mentioned above, The Jerome Project,[14] was created to bring greater visibility and accessibility to Caja's artwork. The Jerome Project is a non profit organization, that was created by Anthony Cianciolo in order to preserve and protect the artistic legacy of Caja. The Jerome Projects' goal is to bring recognition to Caja as an important 20th century artist and not simply as a marginalized, controversial, gay artist.

References
  1. Hendrickson, Daniel (2006). Davis A. Gerstner (ed.). Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer Culture. Routledge. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-415-56966-8.
  2. Whiting, Sam (March 23, 1995). "A Dabbler In Minutiae". SFGate. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  3. Selz, Peter (2006). Art of engagement : visual politics in California and beyond. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. p. 216. ISBN 978-0520240537.
  4. "Caja, Jerome" (PDF).
  5. Bonetti, David (November 15, 1995). "Miniature paintings, major talent". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  6. Bleys, Rudi (October 28, 2000). Images of Ambiente: Homotextuality and Latin American Art, 1810-today. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 180. ISBN 978-0826447234.
  7. Flanagan, Michael (16 July 2015). "Fond Memories of Uranus". Bay Area Reporter. 45 (29).
  8. AIDS, Visual. "Jerome Caja (1958 - 1995) and David Cannon Dashiell (1952 - 1993)". Visual AIDS. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
  9. 1958-, Katz, Jonathan D. (2015). Art AIDS America. Hushka, Rock, 1966-, Arning, Bill,, Castiglia, Christopher,, Reed, Christopher, 1961-, Helfand, Glen,, Hernandez, Robb. Seattle. ISBN 9780295994949. OCLC 917362964.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. Turner, Fred (1996). "Resurrection An artist's iconography embraces AIDS, drag culture, and the Catholic Church". Boston Phoenix. p. Reviews. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  11. Karlstrom, Paul J. (September 29, 1995). "Oral history interview with Jerome Caja". Archives of American Art. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  12. "SFMOMA Has Show on 'Day Without Art'". SFGate. December 1, 1995. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  13. Friedman, Roberto (September 27, 2007). "Polymorphous pleasure principle". The Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  14. "about". THE JEROME PROJECT - preserving Jerome Caja's artistic legacy.

Further reading
  • Karlstrom, Paul J. (September 29, 1995). "Oral history interview with Jerome Caja". Archives of American Art. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  • Aveena, Thomas; Klein, Adam (October 1996). Jerome: After the Pageant. Bastard Books. ISBN 978-0965141703.
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