Dyke Deck

Catherine Opie, artist

born 1961

Dyke Deck, 1996

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: offset photolithograph; card stock

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 92 x 67 mm
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 3 5/8 x 2 5/8 in

Credit line: Gift of Alfred Willis

Accession number: 2000.0012

On display: Simons Gallery

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Bold Women

Catherine Opie’s Dyke Deck of 52 playing cards features stylized portraits of the queer community in San Francisco in the 1990s. Opie’s work simultaneously satisfies and upends traditional expectations of portraiture. “I try to present people with an extreme amount of dignity,” she says. “They’re always going to be stared at, but I try and make the portraits stare back.” Dyke Deck helped change what people thought about gender identity and performance and offered a vital look into the LGBTQ+ community in the Bay Area.