Interview
As a gay man, John Brooks has spent a lifetime advocating for the rights of LGBTQ+ people. He sees this as being at great risk under Donald Trump. The fact that there are queer people who vote for Trump leaves the artist from Los Angeles perplexed.
01.11.2024, 05:2901.11.2024, 07:12
ralph steiner, north carolina
I reach John on the phone in Los Angeles. A mutual Swiss friend from her student days made contact with the 46-year-old artist. She lives with her husband in Kentucky, in the same area where John lived until a few months ago. The two started talking because John’s dog wears a Swiss collar.
Are you going to vote?
John Brooks: Naturally. Since I was 18. I have never missed a single election in my life. Not even during the years I lived abroad.
“The reality is that one of these two people will move into the White House, and it can be none other than Kamala Harris.”
What is the central issue for you in this US presidential election?
First and foremost, I want to prevent Donald Trump from coming back to power. In my opinion, he is a disastrous politician and represents the absolute worst of America. I would really vote for anyone who can prevent him from becoming president. That’s not to say I don’t like Vice President Kamala Harris. She has many admirable qualities and is fully capable of the position. Of course there are things that bother me, such as her stance on the war in Gaza. The reality, however, is that one of these two people will be in the White House, and it can be none other than Kamala Harris.
Originally from Kentucky, John had to choose his art career: New York or Los Angeles? It became Los Angeles.image: Bearykah Badu
What do you think about Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights?
The bills from Trump and the Republicans are consistently directed against the rights of the queer community. Just hours after Trump’s inauguration in 2017, content about LGBTQ+ rights was removed from government websites. Trump’s administration has appointed numerous anti-queer judges, banned trans people from serving in the military, and rolled back Obama-era LGBTQ+ workplace protections. Trump’s Labor Department issued a regulation that would allow employers to fire people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity for religious reasons. The list goes on and on.
Please.
Trump and his administration created measures aimed at eliminating policies protecting LGBTQ+ children. They interpreted immigration rules so that the child of a same-sex couple born abroad through surrogacy is considered “illegitimate,” making it more difficult to obtain U.S. citizenship. Under Trump, the State Department began denying visas to unmarried same-sex partners of diplomats. Donald Trump and his supporters want to ban books with LGBTQ+ content.
To person
Born in Kentucky in 1978, John Brooks studied political science and English literature at the College of Charleston, South Carolina. He lived primarily in Louisville, Kentucky, but spent several years in London and Chicago. Today Brooks works as an artist in Los Angeles.
His work explores themes such as queer identity, memory, death, place and questions of contemplation. His works have been exhibited in the USA and Europe, including in Zurich, and are part of numerous collections. He has also published various paintings, drawings and poems in magazines. From 2017 to 2022, Brooks ran a contemporary art gallery where he curated over 25 exhibitions.
“The Democrats are allies of the LGBTQ+ community; under Trump, queer people are tolerated at best.”
What would be different under a Democratic president than under Donald Trump?
According to their party platform, the Democrats want to pass an equality law that prohibits discrimination against queer people in areas such as housing, access to credit, education and the judiciary. Under Joe Biden, protection of the health of queer people was further expanded. The Democrats are allies of the LGBTQ+ community; under Trump, queer people are at best tolerated. Of course, there may have been some LGBTQ+ appointees in his administration. At the same time, however, he surrounds himself with religious zealots, with Christian nationalists, who will continue to do everything they can to reverse the progress made on LGBTQ+ rights in the past decades.
The painting “Mind Over Matter is Magic” (2021) combines a picture of Marlene Dietrich with Helene Abelen and John’s friend Kris (in a Ferrari shirt). Image: john brooks
“Every right that queer people have today is due to the work of progressive politicians.”
Do you have sympathy for LGBTQ+ people who vote for Donald Trump?
No. That’s like chickens voting for Colonel Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken. LGBTQ+ people can have completely different opinions on all sorts of issues. However, every vote for Republicans is harmful to the queer community. All the rights that LGBTQ+ people have today are due to the work of progressive politicians. To think that we no longer have to worry about our rights today is completely short-sighted.
John voted for Kamala Harris. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, he is very worried about Trump’s possible election. Image: Tag Christof
Do you have any concrete examples?
The fact that the Supreme Court overturned abortion rights in 2022 shows that this country can move backwards in areas that many take for granted. This danger also threatens LGBTQ+ rights under Trump. Same-sex marriage has existed in the United States for less than a decade. Rights for trans people are also just emerging.
The painting “Hello, Friend from the Road” (2022) combines the artists Stefan Zweig and Thomas Mann with Lil Nas X, a contemporary queer icon. Image: john brooks
Does the fact that Trump has intact electoral chances affect your daily life?
Definitely. The last nine years have been pure stress for me. On the one hand, through Trump’s presidency and his policies. On the other hand, because he is supported by millions of people despite his inhumane rhetoric, his crimes and his democratizing behavior, or even precisely because of that. This makes me really sad for my country and my fellow citizens. Even if Kamala Harris wins, support for Trump remains. What does this mean for us as a people, as a nation?
“I don’t think Trump thinks about other people’s suffering. He is neither interested nor capable of it.”
Do you think Kamala Harris meets the needs of the…
Can the LGBTQ+ community be better represented because, as a dark-skinned woman, she herself belongs to a group that is discriminated against?
Absolutely. I don’t think you necessarily have to be a woman or dark-skinned to understand what it’s like to be discriminated against. But Harris knows what such humiliation feels like. The Trump campaign has repeatedly used her race and gender to discredit her and question her abilities as president. Aside from that, she generally seems like an empathetic person. The same cannot be said of Trump. I don’t think he thinks about other people’s suffering. He is neither interested nor capable of it.
John grew up in Kentucky and is now an artist in Los Angeles. Image: Tag Christof
You are 46 years old. How different is it to be gay today compared to when you came out almost 30 years ago?
The differences are enormous. In many places today you can live freely as a homosexual man and be whatever you want. This basic requirement is essential. I no longer have to worry about being fired or thrown out of my apartment because of my homosexuality.
“When I was younger, I was terrified of people finding out I was gay.”
And what was it like growing up?
I grew up Catholic, religion was very important in my home and family and has long influenced my worldview regarding my homosexuality. For many years I was terrified that people would find out I was gay. That could have had dire consequences. I have never experienced violence, but I have always experienced exclusion and teasing.
The painting “Rousseau Walks on Trumpet Paths” (2024) borrows its title from Joni Mitchell’s “The Jungle Line.” The central character is Francesco Lentini, a real person who performed in circus acts in the early 20th century.Image: John Brooks
Today you live in liberal Los Angeles and work as an artist. Have you arrived in life?
That’s a bit too much pathos for me. What I can say is that the United States is a better country for a gay man today. It feels like a land that partly belongs to my community and me. I had no role models when I was a child, but today I have them, with people like Pete Buttigieg and Tammy Baldwin even in the highest spheres of politics. This visibility fundamentally changes the lives of LGBTQ+ people.
What more is there to do regarding LGBTQ+ rights?
If Trump is elected, our fight will continue immediately. Unfortunately, there is no cumulative or linear effect of progress. I hope that the arc of freedom bends toward justice, as Martin Luther King once said. But the work is far from done.
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