July la. 2ÛÛ3 ’ JMK «^39
ART
....... ▼.......
W he bkxim is not yet off the rose that is
Walt Curtis.
Mala Noche, Curtis’ novella that
became Gus Van Sants directorial debut, is
being published in France. 1970s independent
films Paydirt and Property, featuring performances
by Curtis, are being released on DVD. And a
new show at Portland’s Mark Woolley Gallery
surveys the gay street poet s painterly side.
“It’s sort of a retrospective,” says Curtis, 62,
who lives in Oregon City. Titled Poet's Choice,
the exhibit displays mostly figurative mixed-
media paintings spanning some 20 years.
Viewing the artwork and listening to Curtis
are similar experiences. Both deliver short, some
times disconnected, yet always relative bursts of
ebullient ideas and genuine emotion. Art and
artist are so vibrant and explicit that one
h-
I
EVERY BOOK OF GAY EROTICA
ALWAYS IN STOCK!
(@> Kobi Israel Life. Photos of handsome
Israeli youth. Now that's a peace offering. $20.
(ww) Three the Hard Way. Third wheel s a
good thing in these XXX stories of trios. $15.
<@) Vintage pulp! Call Boy. Homo Hill. We
Three Queens, & other 60s classics. $15 up.
927 SW OAK • 228-8141
Safe and Confidential
Alcohol and Drug
Treatment...
\
/
The Triangle Project
— ▼—
Portland s only program designed
specifically for the GLBT community
AU services are provided by
experienced GLBTcounselors
If you have problems in your life related to
your alcohol or drug use, call before the
problems get bigger. We can help.
503.224.0075
2130 SWFifth Ave., *100
Portland, OR 97201
It's his pleasure
Retrospective exhibit by Walt Curtis
chronicles a poet’s voice in paint
by
T imothy K rause
can’t simply dismiss them. There’s intelligence in
the raving and clanty in the spontaneity.
Portions echo Native Spirits, Curtis’ last show
with Woolley in 2001; the artist still incorpo
rates various Native American symbols and
materials. His canvas for “The Souls of LVad
Men Go Into Fish," for example, is a piece of
wood reclaimed from the Willamette River.
“Paint soaks into the wood differently than
on paper or even canvas,” he explains. “It’s sort
of intriguing what will happen, the accidents in
the wood, the knots.”
He immediately turns to “Octopus," his new
work that represents one’s many arms of desire.
As Curtis points to knots on the wtxxl’s sur
face, he pulls out of his pocket some glue and a
silvery disc he uses to fill an empty space. The
discs are train-flattened coins that make perfect
hooks for catching viewers.
Poet's Choice is filled with paintings that
encompass such found objects. “The Devil’s
Candle," for instance, incorporates a smashed
padlock and a piece of chain. But just as inter
esting is what lies beneath the surface because
Curtis often reworks paintings from places like
Goodwill.
“This one was a rather mediocre wine cellar
theme," he reveals, indicating an image that
shows through the foreground of a white prone
Ixxly. “But it had this fabulous candle that I
knew I had to use. It just hit me—well, the
devil’s candle is like a penis, or desire, or some
thing that can get you into trouble.”
“The Erotic Cowboy" superimposes naked
cowboys and Indians on a traditional Western
landscape. "There was something about it that I
wanted to utilize, so 1 came up with this cliché
of smoke signals coming from the mountains,
which are tits," he laughs. “I wanted to do
something whimsical but also to take a stereo
type and turn it into something else.... That
excites me, all this ‘under energy’ and what am
I going to do with this.... I’d hate to sit down
with uniform-size canvases painted white.”
Indeed, white is rare in Curtis’ palette. He’s
“nutty” about color, especially “primary third-
grade color complements." And his paintings are
as busy and multidimensional as his conversation.
“Luna Regna" is a wild portrait painted on a
collage of 1950s wallpaper scraps in which
World Beat
Rock
Soul
Womens
Oldies
Jazz
Folk
Gospel
Cajun
Country
New Age
Bluegrass
Soundtracks
Musicals
Lounge
Big Band
Comedy
Reggae
- Spoken Word
elongated figures seem to w < xj among a shower
of flowers. “They give a kind of pattern that
the eye can go back to or bounce off,” instructs
Curtis, turning around to ask somewhat rhetor
ically: “Is it too busy? Some of these are rather
busy, aren’t they?"
One critic claims the paintings have so
much energy that they make him feel queasy.
“I like that happening. I like your eye to go
here and then go back there," Curtis retorts.
“In these kinds of really busy paintings, your
eye jumps around, trying to adjust to the lay
ered dimensions, the patterns and the colors.
Sometimes I find I work color tike that, too, so
that your eye can kind of look for color combi
nations...almost abstract color patches and
then things that bounce off them, making the
figures emerge.”
As do words, often enough for this Renais
sance man’s literary heart to complete several
poems roused by a painting’s symbolism.
Which leads Curtis to suggest his own rai
son d’etre. “For me, it’s the energy of it all. I
think there’s pleasure in them,” he remarks,
contemplating his style. “I’m not too big on
modem art. It seems to me that art has gone in
the direction of presenting ideas or concepts.
Well, I think a painting should give you plea
sure. It should arouse pleasure and beauty and
sensuality. I like art like that." JH
W alt C urtis ’ Pixrt s Choice is on exhibit
through Aug. 2 at Mark Woolley Gallery,
120 N.W. Ninth Ave. #210. He plays host to the
lively “Community of Poets" reading 7 p.m.
July 24 at the gallery.
Features Editor TIMOTHY
at tim@justout.com.
KRAUSE can be
reached
and more...
EAST PORTLAND • 32nd & E Burnside St. • 231-8926
I ¿ URI CH ▼ J ©
MILLENNIUM
F
NW PORTLAND • 23rd & NW Johnson • 248-0163
VID&RAMA
2640 N.E. ALBERTA 503-288-4067
and
VIDEO CHEST
2310 N. LOMBARD 503.289.8408
♦ ARTHOUSE
♦ GAY & LESBIAN
♦ FOREIGN
. CULT
PLUS THE LATEST CHARTBUSTERS
Corner of Sitncfy B/vtt & NE &4th
3106 NE 64th • Portland, OR 97213
503.280.8080
CAMPING FOR
GAY & LESBIAN
MEMBERS
Located one hour
north of Seattle
on a National Scenic
Byway in the beautiful
Cascade Mountains
Limited membership
$15 per night
Regular memberihip
$150 per year
(unlimited camping)
Recr