Break from Pulp, 1994, acrylic on canvas, 50" x 60"

By using the title of one of Chinns' paintings "Break from Pulp", I drew on her explanation of the piece to draw a parallel to her life.

"In "Break from Pulp” there are two woman, one of whom is a lesbian mystery writer, Nikki Baker (to your right). An array of lesbian pulp novels lay at the feet of the two subjects, and they had paused from their task of reading and reviewing these fictional stories."

In her work as an artist, she breaks from the usual stereotypes of gay art, usually based in fiction, and depicts the gay life as one of ordinary circumstance--to the untrained eye. Most of Chinn's work has a reference to the gay/lesbian culture, but it goes unnoticed by the general public. This is largely due to the ignorance of the culture. Chinn describes her use of lesbian icongraphy:

"There are frequently multiple readings of my pieces to a large extent depending on the viewer’s relationship to the subject. A lesbian or gay cultural frame of reference may contribute enormously to the fullest appreciation and understanding of my work. I believe a gay or lesbian audience is more likely, in my work, to see or to identify something relevant to their life experience, more so, than one who is not so familiar. My work, at times, because it is so subtle in its approach (style), has at times been “misread” – the gay context is lost or overlooked. The element of context is often overlooked in the readings of other artists, particularly well known artists, whether their works are literary, visual or performance based. Context is critical to the fullest understanding of a work and for those who choose not to regard by implication or knowledge an artist’s body of work, the influence of culture, gender, race or sexual orientation where it may very well apply, it would simply be to deny the ramifications of the narrative told."