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LESLIE/LOHMAN ARCHIVE NO. 23
A BRIEF HISTORY
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George Towne paints “sociological descriptive sorta-political kinda-realistic portraitures of gay men” and a damn good rainbow Nelson Santos: Where were you born? What’s your sign? George Towne: I was born in northeastern Pennsylvania and raised in Port Jervis, New York , which is two hours north of NYC. I’m a Virgo—born on the cusp of Libra. NS: Virgo/Libra is the Cusp of Beauty — very sensitive and creative. Was creativity encouraged in your house growing up? What’s your family like? GT: My mother likes music and hoped I would pursue it. She persuaded me to take piano lessons, but I never learned how to read music. She is supportive of my artwork but still wishes I would paint landscapes or something. My Dad is great. I get my dorky sense of humor from him. My Dad's name is James Towne, and he named me George Towne on purpose to be funny. Many people in New York don't get the joke—but anytime I'm in Washington D.C., everyone gets it. NS: Did you draw a lot as a kid? GT: Yes, I loved to copy the cartoons and caricatures out of Mad magazine. I made my own comic book called "Crazy Cat Comics" with several issues. By the time I was in high school, I was a big fan of horror movies; my first oil painting was an ambitious depiction of a zombie rising out of a graveyard. NS: Do you remember your high school art teacher? GT: Mr. Windgassen. He was an older German man who came to America to make paintings of “Indians,” snakes, turtles, eagles, and the like. He used half of his art materials budget to buy me my first set of oil paints. NS: Did you take life drawing classes? Did you find them exciting? GT: When I was about 16, I went to art summer school in upstate New York , where I got to draw from the nude figure for the first time. There was this sexy gay model, who was one of the first openly gay guys I’d ever met. He was cute and had one of those 80's progressive haircuts, like from "The Smiths." He flirted with me, and I did get a hard-on when I drew him, but I was in the closet and too afraid to flirt back. NS: That is exciting. Was that your first crush? GT: Well, the first guy I fooled around with was an Italian man of 24, when I was seventeen. He had a red Z-28 Camaro and a prison record. He boldly flirted with me at my first job as a stockboy at the A&P. One day, he picked me up after work to "drive me home" but took me to the local Interstate truck-stop instead. I only saw him one more time. Later, I realized he had stolen $60 from me, but I didn't care I thought I was in love. NS: That’s hot! Did you ever draw him? GT: No, but he asked me to make a drawing for him. He asked me to draw a unicorn and rainbow, which even in high school I thought was corny, but I was head over heels for him and drew him the best damn unicorn and rainbow ever! Later, I saw he had left it kinda crumpled up on the passenger's seat floor of his Camaro. So even though he was smoldering and sexy, he was a real creep. NS: When did you move to New York ? What was it like? GT: I moved in 1986, when I was 17 to go to School of Visual Arts . I joined ACT-UP and meet a lot of now-famous individuals. I met David Wojnarowicz, he lived around the corner from me. He was very shy, but a few months later I was taking photos at an ACT-UP demo at City Hall. It was really exciting, but I ran out of the film. I was distressed, but out of nowhere David shows up and gave me a roll of film. Those pictures ended up becoming some of the best photos I've ever taken and inspired some of my first political paintings. I really believe it had something to do with knowing it came from him, his energy, generosity, and magic. NS: You also take photographs of your models before painting them. What is a photo session like? Do you find photographing your subject the more intimate process or time you spend painting him? GT: Both intriguing for different reasons. During the photo-shoot, there can be a some flirting or a connection, but I have to stay involved in what's showing up on the viewfinder. Sometimes working on the piece is more intimate. When you draw or paint you can REALLY study someone’s looks, features, proportions and differences—you see things you wouldn’t notice in person otherwise. NS: Do you find making art erotic? GT: It can be grueling and painful, but I like the pay-off of getting someone's likeness in a portrait that has a sexiness to it. NS: You have painted a variety of gay men: friends, artist, political figures, and heroes. Is there any one you would really love to paint? GT: I try to keep my feelers out to see who I have six degrees of separation with, but I can be a bit shy--so maybe this interview will help me get hooked up! I love to meet and/or paint lots of inspiring people: Rupert Everett, Greg Louganis, Peter Berlin, Joe Dallesandro, Jeff Stryker, Warhol superstar Taylor Meade would be great to meet, and artists like Jack Pierson, Ross Bleckner and AA Bronson. Artist Matthew Barney is kind-of an honorary gay, isn't he? NS: Much of your art, especially the earlier work, deals with loss and isolation, both in the subject matter and in it’s formal quality of painting people alone, often without a background. Can you tell me about this? Do you think of yourself as a loner? GT: In 1997, I did a series of paintings, depicting gay men who had lost their lovers to AIDS, posing with an object they chose that reminded them of their lost loved one. As the AIDS pandemic began to shift, I started a series of portraits of gay men focusing on the individual and not their environment. This forces the viewer to consider the subject and to see what they can ascertain about the subjects identities, orientations, occupations, and emotions. I think we are all alone in this world, even when we have strong relationships or connections. Working on my artwork can be a very lonely or at least a very self-analyzing practice. I do make myself get out of the house when this gets to be too much for me. NS: Your work seems to be changing. It’s more lush, subjects are in defined background, it’s sexier and you are even painting couples. How do you see this change? GT: I am interested in moving forward. Many recent factors in my life have altered my outlook and my artwork. I have been re-enforcing the direction of my work with greater clarity than ever before. ____________________ You can see more work by George Towne at www.georgetowneart.com Nelson Santos is a an artist, curator, Associate Director for Visual AIDS, and a Pisces. He lives in Brooklyn with his dog and frequent collaborator, Sparky. www.sparkyandnelson.com
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Comments? Corrections? Questions? Requests? E-mail us: The Leslie-Lohman Gay Art Foundation