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cxindvision, the workspace of Portland gay
artist TJ Norris, is one part gallery, one
part laboratory.
Incapable of separating science and
art, he creates a moving space with an empha
sis on the viewer’s experience. “1 like working
in a laboratory of changing aesthetics,” he
says. “1 feel that it’s important to present art
and composition that is accessible and aesthet
ically pleasing— a dialogue that is mutually
inclusive.”
The gallery presents contemporary work in
all media with a special focus on 2-D and instal
lations that include sound or relate to technolo
gy and/or the sciences. There is also a strong
focus on interactive environments.
The gallery’s October inaugural exhibit, Bas
ket: Black Walnut Drawings, featured intricate geo
metric prints using homemade black walnut inks
by Portlander Seth Nehil, who also performed a
rare set of his own electroacoustic sounds from
recent recordings. November’s show, disembod
ied.reconfigured, is a display of photo work focusing
on the 21st century male body by gay artists Bruce
Eves, Chris Komater and Ira Tattelman.
“Since they are from three distinct points in
by J o d i D a r by
North America— San Francisco, Toronto and
Washington, D.C.— they form a triangle,” the
One of Norris’ major exhibits, Homo/Macho-
ing exhibitions for Binghamton University’s Arts
Bear Icons: Art & Artifacts of Queer Masculinity,
very perceptive Norris notes.
Museum and Cambridge Multicultural Arts
A recent transplant from Boston, he hopes
deals with the politics of body image.
Center, among others.
to move his viewers to a more universal level of
“The bear culture is something of a freedom
Norris received a 1991 Massachusetts Arts
emotion by incorporating visual art and music.
movement,” he explains. “There has been such
Lottery grant for an installation presented at
His aspiration is to do what contemporary art is Somerville Art Museum titled Naked Skeleton.
an obsession in the gay community with men’s
sometimes reluctant to: give the viewer the free In 1992, auto-porto-matic, his first video short,
bodies— that men have to have the traditional
dom to experience art in a very personal way.
was screened as part of the Downtown Commu YM CA athletic build or they won’t be seen as
nity Television Center’s Video/Film Festival in attractive by anyone. It’s like some kind of
orris’ love of art goes back as far as he can
beauty pageant. The bear culture represents
New York City.
remember. There is nothing particularly
I men growing into their bodies, being
surprising to him about his life as an
[ loved for who they are.”
artist; it’s just something he has always
In his photographic series Urban Ruins,
done. “Making art for me is like breath
Norris conveys a similar feeling of art as
ing,” he says.
icon, one that pays homage to beauty and
After years of arts education, he
power beyond disenfranchisement. Both
received a bachelor’s degree from Massa
represent markers of an urban subculture.
chusetts College of Art’s Media and Per
Whether pictures of bear men or crumbling
forming Arts department. He also studied
foundations, the artist’s images succeed in
at Nova Scotia College of Art and Design
conveying a steadfastness and strength.
as part of an exchange program.
Norris’ most recent series of paintings,
From there on, the 37-year-old’s exhi
12SQFT, is another example of the con
bition record is impressive in its length
stant metamorphosis of his talent. The
and diversity. “I never want to limit myself
exhibit, on display through Nov. 30 at the
to one medium,” he says of his work,
Jantzen Beach Barnes & Noble, includes
which varies from photography to installa
12 square canvases that are treated in a
tion. “I like to let my art inform me where
way that is, in the artist’s words, “both lov
it wants to go.”
ing and distractive.”
And go it has.
His intent, he explains, is to turn per
Norris has exhibited his work through
fect square canvases into something deci
out New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylva
sively imperfect. The images’ blue, black
nia, Maryland and Oregon. During the
and white vertical lines evoke a strong yet
early ’90s he delved into a new career as an
independent free-lance curator construct- Part of Norris’ 12SQ FT at the Jantzen Beach Barnes & Noble somewhat unclear feeling.
T J Norris’ new gallery packs a wallop for your senses
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“The more I moved away from definite
images, the more subconscious images came,” he
explains. “They started looking like bars— bar
codes— which in turn made me think about the
conscious realities of oppression, our consumer
culture and how I have made a point not to align
myself with it. Instead of plastering the canvas
with overt images of Nike ads or supermodels, I
chose to make a more subconscious point. I don’t
believe in .. .art that [has! simple interpretations.
I prefer images that you have to reckon with.”
Norris’ influences, not surprisingly, are as
varied as the art they inspire. He cites the work
of Anselm Kiefer, Christian Boltanski and Mark
Rothko, who, he says, “have always struck me in
their beauty and the emotional responses that
their work commands.”
Internationally known Ohio art professor Ann
Hamilton is also a favorite. “Her work is great in
that you never experience her pieces from a
voyeuristic place. She makes you feel as if you are
as much a part of her installation as anything else.”
When not busy curating for Soundvision and
earning a living as a human resources assistant at
CareOregon, Norris is focusing a good deal of
energy on what he considers his “most impor
tant work.” Tribryd — GenometricsINucleo/lnfini-
tus will be a three-part interactive, multisensory
experience.
Norris has solicited some of his favorite musi
cians to join the project. “I asked these people to
collaborate with me in order to challenge
myself,” he admits, noting these artists “were so
inspirational to me when 1 was working on my
own artwork...who knows what could happen if
we made an effort to collaborate !"
He contacted 15 musicians, and nine agreed
to work with him. “I was thrilled,” he smiles.
Utilizing music and imagery to construct
installation environments, Norris plans to pre
sent Tribryd as a conceptual piece, taking place in
three separate locations and featuring the avant-
garde music of New York’s Joel St Jermain, Bee-
queen, Northern Ireland’s Aranos and others.
The first installation, Genometncs, deals with the
genetic markers of DNA and its minuscule attrib
utes that give humans their unique characteristics
and physical identity; it will be unveiled next
March in Portland’s Gavin Shettler Gallery.
Until then, TJ Norris will continue to live
his art. J H
presents disembodied.reconfigured
through Nov. 23 at 625 N.W. Everett St., with a
reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 7. TJ Norris’
12SQFT runs through Nov. 30 at the Jantzen Beach
Barnes & Noble, with a reception at 7 p.m. Nov. 8.
For more information visit www.tjnoms.net.
SOUNDVISION
is a Portland graphic designer, free
lance writer and radio producer.
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