OREGON S LESBIAN/GAY/BI/TRANS/QUEER NEWSMAGAZINE FEATURE SEPTEMBER 3 2010 21 TBA:I0 UNDERGROUND ART interpretation o f the pieces often didn’t have to do with that. It had to do with this relationship between the two of us, they didn’t fixate on the fact that we were queer.” In the United States, however, audiences are resistant to even acknowledge that they are queer, puzzling over what the nature of their relationship could possibly be. “People will ask us if we’re brothers, other people will think we’re friends and some people stereotypes about gender and sexuality, some­ will be in complete denial even after we tell times intentionally and other times inevitably. them,’” Miller says. “There’s this denial that Many of the couple’s performances incorporate masculine men are gay because gay men are a domestic element—crocheting, sewing, ori­ always effeminate, so it’s this constantly con­ gami—and their masculine appearance alone fronting stereotypes.” contradicts perceptions about queer men. However perplexed some audiences may be “W hether we want it to or not, because of by the exact nature of their relationship, the our relationship to one another, the personal be­ threads running through the couple’s recent comes political,” says 41-year-old Shellabarger. work could not be more universal. Miller says Miller adds that while his individual work has they have been inspired in part by The Work of a clearly intentional queer focus, the collective Mourning by Jacques Derrida. work does not. It’s simply “a matter o f fact.” In the piece the couple will be performing “Just because we’re two men and we’re in this at TBA, “Untitled (Graves),” they explore con­ relationship, it’s queer,” Miller says. “One of nection through and beyond death. Miller and the things we hope is that it’s something other Shellabarger will each dig a size-proportional people can look at and see themselves in, both grave (“Stan’s will be taller and narrower, mine straight people and queer people.” will be wider and shorter,” Miller explains) on Still, as obvious as the nature of their rela­ the grounds of Washington High. After lying tionship seems to the artists, it doesn’t always in the graves, they will dig a tunnel between the translate. In Europe, the couple has found two through which to hold hands. their sexuality to be both understood and a “It’s a process piece. It’s a very short narra­ non-issue. tive but it’s a very long piece,” Miller explains. “It seemed incredibly obvious to them that “W hen we performed it before [in Switzer­ we were [queer],” Shellabarger says. “So their land] ... some people came back several times Chicago artist couple pla/s dead to illuminate life BY ERIN ROOK Dutes Miller and Stan Shellabarger explore the dynamics of love and loss through perfor­ mance pieces that emphasize the artistic process as a metaphor for the cycles of life and death, of connection and separation. The Chicago-based couple has been creating collaborative works since they starting dating 17 years ago, bringing together their respective fascinations with the body to produce perfor­ mance art that speaks to universal themes in relationships in a distinctly physical way. “A lot of my work is very figurative and deals with pornography and the body and desire,” says Miller, 45, “and a lot of Stan’s work deals with the body in space, time and the marks that it makes on the world.” Their collective work focuses, naturally then, on the ways bodies relate. Past performances have included braiding their beards together, intentionally acquiring a sunburn while em­ braced and a project (ongoing since 2003) in which the men crochet opposite ends of a pink tube that both separate and connected them. Miller and Shellabarger s art often challenges throughout the day, which for me would be the better way of viewing the piece. ” W hether the graves are a full 6-feet deep will depend on the terrain and weather. But regard­ less of the depth, Miller says lying in them is a moving experience. “You’re really thinking about death in a very purposeful way that doesn’t necessarily occur in life all the time and what it means to anticipate the loss of your lover,” Miller says. “Untitled (Graves)” is not the couple’s first piece exploring death. Over the summer, the couple performed “Untitled (Pyre)” in which they each cut up fallen trees and piled them into stacks resembling funeral pyres and burned them. “The two trees ended up serving as doppel- gangers, one for Dutes, one for myself,” Shel­ labarger explains. “We ... stacked them into a funeral pyre so it was very column-like, making reference to the body and then at sunset set them on fire. It was this idea of self-emulation, or the destruction of, the disappearance of the body.” Until that day arrives for Miller and Shel­ labarger, they will continue to build their pyres out of collected butter wrappers, hair and nail clippings, receipts and other cast-offs of the body’s journey through time. J K will commence on Fri., Sept. 10 or Sat., Sept. 11, depending on weather, at Wash­ ington High. Admission is free. Visit westernexhi- bitions.com/miller_shellabarger or pica.org. G rave D ig g in g Sellwood Beauty C U TE Cottage Hazeltine Park 3 bed/2 hath. Must see inside, classic craftsman features. Built-ins, hardwoods, lush back yard. Master Suite. Family rm/den. 7629 SE 13th $365,000 2 bed/1 bath. Huge country kitchen, deck, new roof, new sink, tile, flooring.... HOME SWEET HOME! 5525 SE Nehalem $169,900 Stunning Craftsman. One of a kind SALE PENDING 5 bed/2 hath. Bonus Room. Built-ins, renovated kitchen, huge rooms. 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