Rooted in the American Dream, is the principle that all people are created equal and that all are ensured freedom and justice under the law. However, 234 years after those sentiments were put to paper, there are still groups of Americans who are denied these inalienable rights.

States of Union is a multidimensional project that addresses inequality in civil rights – specifically, in the rights afforded to gay and lesbian individuals. The aim of this project is twofold. First, to create positive role models for the gay community. Second, to help educate our allies by giving a face to the LGBT population.

The large-scale photographs that make up States of Union are loosely based on classical paintings. Through gesture, lighting, size and formality, the images pay homage to the original purpose of portraiture: the glorification of the family or individual. By drawing upon classical images, the tropes historically used to promote heterosexual family units are re-appropriated and reinvented to serve a more expanded view of family. In so doing, the viewer recognizes something familiar about the image, feeling a kinship with families that might otherwise look and feel unrecognizable.

The project aims to photograph at least 500 gay and lesbian couples and families from across the United States. These iconic images will be used on billboards and buses, on television and in print, as well as in videos and exhibitions that will tour the small towns and big cities of our country. The exhibitions will be presented alongside educational lectures and programs designed to promote equal rights, tolerance and acceptance of the LGBT community.

The first installment of photographs were exhibited at the Morgan Lehman Gallery in September 2009 and in Los Angeles at Manifest Equality in March 2010. Hundreds of people came to see the exhibitions, and the impact was profound. Many, regardless of sexual orientation, left the exhibition empowered – calling it “an incredibly insightful and moving project.”

It is axiomatic that art has the ability to affect opinions and perceptions. The more the world is permeated with images of same-sex couples and families, the harder it will be for same-sex relationships to be considered “other. Moreover, by familiarizing all Americans with an expanded visual repertoire of images that suggest "family," LGBT Americans have a greater chance of finally being granted access equal rights and, thus, the "American Dream."