Above and Below
Tracks
Buena Vista
T. Chick McClure
Artist Statement
T. Chick McClure (b. 1971) is an artist and transgender human born on the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, where he was assigned female at birth.
The early part of his childhood was spent moving with his family from one military town to another until, at the age of 10, they landed in Pensacola, Florida. There, he remained with his mother after his parents' divorce. At this time, his mother began to struggle with the disease of hoarding.
Attending a community college after graduating from high school, his path crossed with that of fellow artist and art teacher, Sue Buck. She was instrumental in guiding him to develop a portfolio and apply to art schools. In 1990, he was accepted to The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. At the Art Institute, he focused on painting and drawing. He wouldn't pick up a camera in earnest until much later.
Upon receiving his BFA, he moved to Los Angeles and became an animation director and a writer. His work in animation garnered numerous awards, including a Grammy and VMA for Best Animated Music Video. But, he couldn't hack the pressure and stress of animation. He began drinking heavily. Taking a hiatus from his responsibilities in the entertainment industry, he enrolled at The Groundlings Theater, where he honed his writing abilities and developed skills in improvisation. He loved the immediacy of improv and the peace, joy, and fun that came with being in the moment. He became a member of The Sunday Company at The Groundlings. After a year, he was cut from the company and became instantly, utterly rudderless. His drinking took off.
For years after, he languished in depression and alcoholism. The squalid conditions of the life he had lived with his mother returned, and he virtually disappeared from life and friends. He had always carried a sense that something was "wrong" about him. His gender identity was a massive secret. And like no other time in the past, he continued to suppress his gender identity while letting his life crumble to dust around him.
Somehow during those years, he found the love of his life. And, he knew if he couldn't clean his life up, he wouldn't have a life worth living. Finally, he told someone his secret. And when she heard him say it, she didn't leave. Slowly, he healed himself and picked up a camera.
He often refers to those 45 years of "pre-transition" as a long period of shapeshifting. Making other people's art. Telling other people's stories. But most critically, trying to be someone he never was. He got real about his gender identity. He stopped shapeshifting. On his 45th birthday, he began his transition.
Being authentic proved to make all the difference. It informs everything about the art and life he creates today. His work now is about himself. He is regularly exploring themes of gender, authenticity, and the breaking apart of assumptions.
T. Chick McClure resides in Los Angeles, California, with his love and their rescue mutts.