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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 16, 2000)
45 ÜBT .......▼....... The art of being queer Gallery owner Reggie Petry makes queer art exhibit a dream come true by M a r c A c it o ust about everyone involved seems to agree that Pride Northwest’s first Queer Art and Culture Exhibition, to be held June 17 and 18 at Portland’s Gov. Tom McCall Waterfront Park, is a great idea. That consensus doesn’t mean, however, that everyone can agree on what makes art queer in the first place. But if anyone is up to the daunting task of ensuring that the breadth of the sexual minorities community is repre sented, it is the show’s coordinator, gallery owner and art dealer Reggie Petry. “Culture doesn’t mean just one thing,” says Petry7. And he should know; he was bom in Germany to a German-French mother and an African American-Cuban-Cherokee father. “When I fill out forms," he says, “I just check ‘other.’ ” The 43-year-old one-man melting pot is also the openly gay single father of three chil dren, ages 15, 23 and 25, and will add grandfa ther to his list of identities when his 23-year- old daughter gives birth this summer. It’s easy to understand why Petry can’t help but have a multicultural view of society, queer or other wise. Petry7 makes it very clear that queer culture doesn’t mean just sex: “If all the images in the show were highly sexualized," h»' says, “it con veys the message that we’re not a culture, but only a behavior, and this show is an expression that there is a queer culture.” J "If all the images in the show were highly sexualized, it conveys the message that we're not a culture, but only a behavior, and this show is an expression that there is a queer culture —Reggie Petry In fact,” he adds, “just because queer artists are producing the work doesn’t necessarily mean the work in this show will be entirely queer in content." Petry7 and Pride Northwest officials hope that the open show, representing more than 25 local artists, will create a forum for spectators to ponder and discuss the elusive meanings of queer culture and art. The event takes on an You bidder believe it Same Ride, Different C ar by Melinda Thorsnes “People ask me, ‘How would you feel if there were a gallery only dedicated to white artists?’ ” he says. “But when you have a segment of the population that you feel has been underrepre sented, that’s what you do. I don’t think white artists have been underrepresented.” Applying the same reasoning to the notion of queer art, one might argue that, ffom da Vinci on, the gay male artist has achieved his share of recogni tion. However, the totality of a gay male artist’s experience, including his sexual identity, has only been openly expressed quite recently. The controversy sur rounding the explicitly homo erotic work of Robert Map plethorpe and Tim Miller, and the virtual invisibility of lesbian, bisexual and trans artists, sug gests there is quite definitely a need for the sexual minorities community to stand behind its artists. Petry hopes his experience coordinating the show will enable him to represent more Epistemological Interrupt by T; ad Williams queer artists in the future, partic ularly now that he has opened Matrix Gallery, a contemporary fine art gallery also on Northeast Alberta Street. His two gal leries are nestled between the lesbian-owned Chez What restaurant and the gay-owned Onda Gallery. As the vice president of the Alberta Street Business Association, Petry urges the queer community— both artists and patrons— to visit the area and make themselves known. .” He points out that there are at least 10 queer- owned businesses in the neighborhood. “It’s easy to know when someone Asian or added significance when one considers that black comes in,” he says, “but if someone is some of the artists have not publicly come out willing to identify themselves, I’d love to know as queer before. who the queer people visiting are.” Petry has long explored the issues of minori We’ll make it easy— just tell him Just Out ty cultures as owner of Our Dream, a gallery- sent you. dedicated to African American artists, located on Alberta Street in Northeast Portland. His ■ Look for the QUEER A R T AND CULTURE decision to focus on African American artists EXHIBITION a t the Portland pride festival June 17 has garnered him criticism as well as praise. and 18 at Gov. Tom McCall Waterfront Park south of the Burnside Bridge. The festival opens at noon Saturday and 9 a m. Sunday. A rt lovers have another great opportunity this month to appreciate and acquire works of art. On June 24, Cascade A ID S Pro ject holds its 10th annual art auction at the Pacific North west College of Art. The event will feature more than 150 works of art, with both live and silent bidding. This year’s auction promises to be the biggest in the astounding history of the event, which has raised more than $450,000 in support of CAP. Procurement chair woman Shari Critchley has collected fine art from a wide array of noted Northwest artists, including phenomenal glass artist Dale Chihuly, and the acclaimed painters Gregory Grenon, Mary Josephson, Lucinda Parker, Rene Rickabaugh and Melinda Thorsnes. Local jazz legend Tom Grant will per form with his band, and after the auc tion DJ Mr. Mu Mu will “throw down the funky groove,” promises Jose Ayala, special events coordinator for CAP. Patrons who pony up $75 each will be treated to a reception starting at 5:30 p.m. to meet participating artists. General admission tickets are $35 for the main event, which takes place from 7 to 11 p.m. at 1245 N.W. Johnson St. in Portland. A number of corporate sponsors ensure that 100 percent o f the money raised goes directly to CAP. Enormous work goes into putting on an event of this scale, and kudos go out PHOTO BY TERESA RISHEL to Tracy Savage, the committee chair woman, and her squadron of helpers. For more information or tickets, call (503) 223-5907. ■ Reported by ORIANA G reen
