DIVERSITY Prints
QLaw Foundation is honored to have been awarded the incredible opportunity by Hon. Anthony David Gipe to provide limited edition prints of this beautiful DIVERSITY painting to donors giving more than $1,000.
About D I V E R S I T Y
Artist Statement
Hon. Anthony David Gipe
This oil painting originated as a project for the Washington Supreme Court Minority & Justice Commission and was selected for its 2019-2020 artwork for its posters and publications.
The painting was a challenge for me to express diversity and inclusion in a visual way that reflects a broad range of participation. I struggled with different ideas trying to convey the message, and was not very satisfied with the early attempts because while they could demonstrate diverse genders and races visually, I was stumped on how to include disability into a visual media.
When I was looking through some old photos of my twin brother, who passed away in 2015, I was reminded that he was conversant in sign language for his hearing impaired clients. Once I connected the idea of sign language to my project, the rest fell into place.
The hands representing the American Sign Language symbols for D I V E R S I T Y are each from different people. Each is a different ethnic, racial and/or cultural background. I also included some jewelry, adornments, or clothing that reflect some unique aspects of culture, or the issues facing the community, including a trans member wearing the pride beads with the trans symbol, and the black man wearing a ring with “BLM” engraved on it. Finally the background colors of the painting are the original pride flag colors with all nine colors, which coincidentally matched up with the nine letters in sign language.
QLaw was always my first choice for donating this work after the Minority & Justice Commission’s use of the image. With the colors and the symbols in the painting it is symbolic of how diverse the LGBTQ+ community is and how much there is to celebrate in the big tent of tolerance and inclusion. It is my pleasure to give QLaw Foundation the exclusive use of the image for its fundraising and promotions.
About the Artist
I was born in Wichita, Kansas and raised in the Northwest. I was a military veteran and worked as an interpreter and analyst before moving to Seattle over 27 years ago to be an attorney. As an attorney I was on the founding board for QLAW and have served it in various positions over the years. I was also the first LGBTQ President for the State Bar Association.
I currently serve the community as a judge, and I volunteer in education and equal justice initiatives. But art and painting have been a passion of mine my entire life. Art is communication. Art should also be a tool of justice, social change, and equity.
