MILWAUKEE — A new take on an old concept. Once again, Edessa School of Fashion is upping the creative game for our city. This time with its 2024 calendar project.
Edessa’s Multimedia Art Director, Leonardt Horák, appeared as a model in the 2023 calendar but had a vision for a much larger project. I met with him to learn about his vision for “2024-Behind the Queen.”
“We are treating this calendar as art. We worked with three Milwaukee drag queens, shooting black and white photography in 35mml film," said Leonardt. "The story progresses from male to female as we move from rural to urban settings, arriving in the most industrial areas the city has to offer. This setting is juxtaposed by the most regal queens in full drag, an art form in itself. The work was evaluated by several academic experts in black-and-white film photography as well as an art curator and has reached critical acclaim."
The earlier calendars were featured in an exhibit at the Museum of Wisconsin Art last summer and were loose-leaf images on an easel. This innovative work of art is a one-page poster full of texture and light with January-December exposed by how it is folded. It is contained in a textural sleeve symbolizing the stereotypes of gender, which also doubles as a stand.
The artistry goes beyond the calendar, with Milwaukee Artist Resource Network (MARN) for a two-month exhibit starting Friday, Jan. 5.
To pick up a calendar for yourself, go to paypal.com.
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