Artist Robert Andy Coomb‪s on “Talk Art”

19th February 2021, 4:06 pm

ROBERT ANDY COOMBS The Stacks 1, 2019

Talk Art continues!! Russell and Robert meet artist Robert Andy Coombs, all the way from Miami Beach!!! We discuss photography, queerness, disability, sexuality, nudity, beauty and representation!!!

Coombs was born and raised in Michigan’s upper peninsula in a little town bordering Wisconsin. Being a closeted gay male in a conservative rural environment, Coombs couldn’t wait to leave his small town behind. He received a scholarship to Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids where he studied photography and started living authentically as a gay male. In 2009, during a trampoline training accident, Coombs landed on the back of his neck resulting in a spinal cord injury. After a short year at home, Coombs returned to KCAD in 2010 and completed his BFA in 2013.

During those years disability and sexuality emerged as a main subject for him. He then went to study at the Yale University School of Art where he continued the exploration of disability and sexuality with a focus on documenting his intimate relationships with friends and lovers. After receiving his MFA in 2020, Coombs relocated to Miami Florida where he continues his photographic practice in the sun.