To Tell Their Story
By Eliza Luce
(Yu-Ching Wang, Breathing in New York, photo by Ed Woodham)
As a writer, I sometimes lack the ability to understand visual art. I like things spelled out for me. Red means anger, the penis represents the patriarchy, etc. Maybe it’s because I write fiction, romance to be exact, that it’s hard for me to see something too abstract and glean meaning from it. Poetry I understand, and that is only through a lot of BFA classes, but dance escapes me. I understand the surface level emotions but need a cheat sheet to tell me the intent so that I can view it through that lens.
So, after seeing so much fantastic work in the streets on Friday, I made my way to the “What’s Your STORY” panel at the Bureau of General Services: Queer Division. Salmon walls lined with books and Disney drawings for their new collection. It was a cozy space to listen. Each artist shared a piece of themselves. And every one is rooted in identity and pain. A way of expressing emotions in a visual format. A plastic Food Story bag over her head, a five-foot microphone that let passersby tell their story.
The through line for most, if not all, seemed to be trauma. Domestic partner abuse, loss of a child, returning home to see that America is not what he once thought it was, Asian racism because of rising COVID numbers. When you look at a person you cannot see any of that. They are like modern art pieces to my uneducated eye. Twisting metal or splashes of paint on a blank canvas. But their work allows them that voice, to make what is internal, external. To tell their story. And as a writer, that is something I truly understand.
Eliza Luce is a romance writer living in Bushwick. Eliza has a queer novella published on Amazon and is currently working on the sequel! She also helps run a writers group in Bushwick (called the Bushwick Writers’ Group) and a ladies lead Dungeons and Dragons collective via MeetUp (called Sheildmaidens). You can find her on Twitter or Instagram @lucewriter, or on her website,
lucewriter.com.
