Just out., January 07, 2011, Page 20, Image 20

Iß]
20
WWW JU STOUT COM
JANUARY 7 2011
STATE OF THE ARTS
"I was really thinking iconic
butch women, and Kate
I got to he a part o f this amazing queer com­
ways shot large format, I was
munity. It’s queer mecca. I got involved with
perfectly happy to make the
the leather community.
switch. I use the Hasselhlad
being such on odd moment
H 2 with a Phase One 45+
of that. It's on LA. butch, not
Just Out: W hat are your main influences?
hack.
what most of us consider os
Opie: It ranges. 1 bounce off a dialogue
around painting, and to a certain extent inher­
[Moenning. of The L Word]
Just Out: In the Girl­
ently it’s very photographic. I would say that friends exhibit, are you us­
butch. I started thinking about
whot that meant, and where
my main influences are the different schools o f
ing that same camera?
thoughts and just bouncing off o f that and
from the first school of thought in relationship
Opie:Yes. G irlfrien ds also
for me is a play in terms o f
to what I really studied with the [John] Szar-
identity and relation to girl­
kowski school, the [Museum o f Modern Art]
friends. So many hutches are mainly boyfriends,
lost to transitioning in terms o f men. I was
definition o f photography through early Amer­
and not really girlfriends. I really wanted to
thinking about how butch [is] being lost and
ican photographers, the [Farm Security Ad­
bring back an old school conversation o f “you’re
what does it mean to maintain that, and I
ministration], what they did in terms o f [Doro­
my girlfriend vs. my boyfriend” and not in any
wanted to go back to portraits, too. I missed
Opie: Amazing, o f course. Four floors o f the
thea] Lange and [Walker] Evans.
way to shake up the transgendered community
making a queer body o f work, and I wanted to
Guggenheim. It was unbelievable, scary and
at all. It’s always been that I’ve been butch on
go back to making some portraits. I’m very sat­
exciting. It made me cry, it affected me so much.
hutch. I never call my girlfriends my boyfriend.
isfied when I’m doing that, so the body o f work
I get to experience this thing. The best part was
She’s still my girlf riend.
just culminated in my own desire.
the party. All my friends came in; Justin Bond
Just Out: Do you think you focus too much
on classicism?
f ^ Q f \ x / q s ¡ 0
our culture."
-CATHERINE OPIE
Opie: I believe that there’s a certain sense o f
how one should seduce and hold the viewer. In
family.
Just Out: How did it feel to get a Guggen­
heim retrospective?
performed, it was this awesome dance party
Just Out: W ith Girlfriends, how did that se­
Just Out: A lot of the people from Girl­
that went until 3 o’clock in the morning, just
terms o f using a classical or traditional ap­
ries come around? W hen did it start, and friends are very well known. Was that a pur­
like art world mixed with my S/M San Fran­
proach to aesthetics, it’s one way you redly end
when did it culminate into a show for you?
cisco leather community. My L.A. community
up being able to hold the viewer in relation to
poseful choice?
Opie: I think it started with photographing
Op ie: Yes, I wanted this notion o f iconic, hut
was there— a really amazing celebration. All
Kate [Moenning, o f The L WorJ\. I was really
also the iconic [becoming] personal. W e’ve be­
my friends trusted me with their images early
thinking iconic hutch women, and Kate being
come iconic together; we’ve grown up together.
on. ... People that I was meeting, they just
such an odd moment o f that. It’s an L.A. butch,
It’s mainly within my generation ... JD being
trusted for me to do these images o f them.
not what most o f us consider as butch. I started
the youngest one, but I’ve known her since she
The effect that they became so important in
Opie: Everything is digital now. Once a
thinking about what that meant, and where
was 15 years old. She’s one o f my best friend’s
the queer lexicon o f language is remarkable. So
camera was made that could match what can
that was in our culture. There were a lot o f com­
nieces out here in California. So I remember
they were also there to celebrate what it meant
be done with a 4x5 or 8x10 camera, cause I al­
plaints that a lot o f the good hutches have been
when JD came out; in a way she becomes
beyond me, but on a larger platform as well.
pieces. 1 am somewhat rigid as a formalist.
Just Out: Do you use mainly analog or tra­
ditional photography methods?
A rm s tro n g V o lk s w a g e n
in picture:
2 0 1 0 JETTA
PORTLAND’S ONLY
EXCLUSIVE VW DEALER
ARM STRONG
Armstrong Volkswagen
W e’re not just local. We’re privately and locally owned.
We don’t just provide referral veterinary services.
We provide personalized care for your pet.
Most importantly, w e’re not just veterinary specialists.
We’re people who love animals.
20000 SE McLoughlin in Gladstone
O ff 1-205 Exit #9 in Gladstone
ARMSTRONGVW.COM
TOLL FREE
LOCAL
1 - 888 - 331-6314
503 - 656-2924
\ cascadevrc.com
H 503.684.1800
HH
(
*