Abstract
Vazaleen was a monthly serial queer party in Toronto founded by artist and promoter Will Munro (1975-2010) in 2000. Munro commissioned Toronto-based artist Michael Comeau (1975-) to create many silkscreen poster advertisements for these parties. His designs include an array of typographic treatments, references to popular culture and queer icons, and vibrant colour schemes. This article discusses these posters in relationship to Michel Foucault’s theory of the heterotopia, Roland Barthes’ semiotic analysis of advertising, and Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s writing on camp.
Highlights
Vazaleen was a monthly serial queer party in Toronto founded by artist and promoter Will Munro (1975–2010) in 2000
Munro commissioned Toronto-based artist Michael Comeau (1975–) to create many silkscreen poster advertisements for these parties. His designs include an array of typographic treatments, references to popular culture and queer icons, and vibrant colour schemes
Ken Moffatt draws on Foucault’s definition of heterotopia to discuss Vazaleen, characterizing it as “a place where signs, languages, interpersonal relations are incongruous, disordered, and multiple.”[18] I want to add to Moffatt’s contribution by claiming that the Vazaleen posters themselves create such an atmosphere of disorder and serve as an alternative to heteronormative society—a heterotopia— by converging graphic elements that confuse conventional categories of straight and queer culture
Summary
Vazaleen was a monthly serial queer party in Toronto founded by artist and promoter Will Munro (1975–2010) in 2000. Munro commissioned Toronto-based artist Michael Comeau (1975–) to create many silkscreen poster advertisements for these parties.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
