13 Love Stories to Counter Prop. 8

As the California supreme court gears up to announce its ruling on the validity of Prop. 8 on Tuesday, this collection of love stories from UCLA Art | Global Health Center gets at the heart of the fight for marriage equality.

Back in March, when the California supreme court sat down to hear oral arguments for and against Proposition 8, UCLA Art | Global Health Center rolled out a multimedia project by South African photographer Gideon Mendel titled 13 Love Stories . Now, as the court gears up to announce its ruling on Tuesday, the videos are as poignant as ever.

The project tells the stories of 13 LGBT married couples -- mostly from Riverside and Los Angeles counties -- in their own words. The racial and ethnic diversity of the group shows how Prop. 8 attacks the rights of a large cross-section of Californians.

Mendel led the creative efforts for 13 Love Stories. He has spent years documenting the plight of AIDS in Africa and, in 2007, photographed 12 individuals living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles for an emotionally moving project called HIV Positive in L.A.

All of the 13 videos are available to view here on Advocate.com. For more information on the 13 Love Stories project, visit www.13LoveStories.com.

In the media campaign leading up to the hotly contested November 2008 vote, something essential was missing: images of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer couples whose relationships hung in the balance. 13LoveStories.com presents a series of short films that redress the absence of such images. Featuring real voices and personal photographs, the films provide direct access to a diverse cross-section of committed couples in and around Los Angeles.

The project began in late January 2009. London-based photographer Gideon Mendel made portraits of each couple along with still life pictures from their homes. UCLA students worked with the couples to unearth an array of snapshots from their personal archives. Creative editor Derrick Shore interviewed the couples and created short videos from the plethora of assembled materials. The videos were completed in mid-February, just in time to go live on Valentine?s Day. An outdoor exhibition version of 13LoveStories.com was launched at Bruin Plaza on the UCLA campus, March 5, 2009, the day that oral arguments in the case are presented to the California Supreme Court.

The project was directed by Mendel in collaboration with co-curators David Gere and Janna Shadduck Hernandez, professors at UCLA (University of California - Los Angeles), and it was produced by Bobby Gordon.

We would like to thank the team of UCLA students for their engagement and phenomenal commitment to this project.

All the members of the 13LoveStories.com team pay tribute to the courage of the participating couples, who allowed us into their lives with such generosity and openness. They have chosen to expose their private relationships to a wide public audience, hoping that their tales of love can help change attitudes and combat the injustice that they have all experienced through the passing of Proposition 8.

3LoveStories Screenings + Exhibitions

The 13 Love Stories videos were completed in mid-February, just in time to go live on Valentine?s Day, and an outdoor exhibition version of 13LoveStories.com was launched at Bruin Plaza on the UCLA campus, March 5, 2009 - the day that oral arguments in the case were presented to the California Supreme Court. A packed plaza enjoyed some wonderful music, delicious cake, and had a chance to hear from the couples themselves.