PAUL CHAN
DARKER, GAYER, DIFFERNT
24" x 36"
Archival inkjet prints mounted on corrugated plastic
Edition of 50, Signed, Numbered, and dated on verso
Published by Badlands Unlimited
2018
DARKER, GAYER, DIFFERNT is part of New Proverbs, an exclusive line of protest signs made by Paul Chan and Badlands Unlimited. They first premiered at the history making Million Women's March in Washington D.C. and New York (January 21, 2017) and have since appeared at the LGBTQ solidarity rally at the Stonewall Inn in New York (February 4, 2017), the General Strike rally in Washington Square Park (February 17, 2017), the ACT UP 30th Anniversary Rally (March 30, 2017), and other public protests around the US.
The phrase comes from former Fox News executive vice president John Moody, who wrote in a news column bemoaning the diversity of the 2018 US winter olympic team. Moody wrote, "Unless it’s changed overnight, the motto of the Olympics, since 1894, has been “Faster, Higher, Stronger.” It appears the U.S. Olympic Committee would like to change that to “Darker, Gayer, Different.” The column was taken down a day after it was posted and Moody has since left Fox News.
Beautiful and provocative, the New Proverbs signs are inspired in part by the posters of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church, arguably one of the pioneering Christian hate speech groups in America. The New Proverbs take visual cues from the color combinations and typographic treatments of the original church signs. But the messages do not disparage the LGBTQ community, Catholics and other Christians, Muslims, Jews, American soldiers and politicians—like the Westboro signs. Instead, the New Proverbs are directed at President Trump and his administration, who also happen to demonize the LGBTQ community, Catholics and other Christians, Muslims, Jews, American soldiers and politicians.
DARKER GAYER DIFFERNT is specially printed on corrugated plastic. The sign is stiff and durable. It is ready to be used in any public protest or town hall meeting you attend. The sign can also be hung in your office or home, to let your friends, colleagues, and neighbors know exactly what you think and where you stand.