Sonja Rieger's images explore the world of crossdressing in Beta Pictoris exhibit
By Special to The Birmingham News
May 09, 2010, 1:02PM
by James R. Nelson
Visual Arts Critic
http://blog.al.com/scenesource/2010/05/sonja_riegers_photos_explore_t.html (http://blog.al.com/scenesource/2010/05/sonja_riegers_photos_explore_t.html)
Dazzling: Photographs By Sonja Rieger. Beta Pictoris Gallery. Through May 22.
Artists often challenge conventional mores, particularly those rules that are moribund and fundamentally passing conventions that restrict the understanding of human diversity.
This show constitutes an incomplete but fascinating revelation of a world known as cross-dressing. This show of photographs records that unconventional segment of our society. Sonja Rieger's visual insight into the world of drag queens is a powerful commentary on an alternative lifestyle. These photographic studies of African-American men who cross-dress are quite stunning.