Catherine Opie, Justin Bond, 1993
Chromogenic print, edition of 8, 20 x 16 inches
Courtesy the artist and Regen Projects, Los Angeles.
Justin Bond at the opening
Catherine Opie, 'Self-Portrait / Cutting', 1993
C-print, edition of 8, 40 x 30 inches
Catherine Opie's early '90s breakthrough body of work now hangs on the walls of the Guggenheim, the subjects - tattooed body modification devotees, gender-fucking dykes, and S/M playmates - looking like
exotic specimens pinned up in a display case. The photographer, acting as a sort of noble PT Barnum, empowered rather than exploited her cohorts among the Los Angeles and San Francisco Modern Primitives, a crowd that embraced the word "queer" and pierced for pleasure. Opie's full-frontal, often large-scale portraits bestow an unexpectedly timeless dignity on each individual in her world, all of them clearly proud of their outsider status, whether that was derived from qualities innate or cultivated.
I'm lucky enough to know many of Opie's sitters personally, and it was a treat last week to see some of these smart, sexy freaks in the museum next to their portraits. Opie's classical poses shot on bright, unstylish seamless paper backgrounds convey a Dorian Gray aura upon Frankie, Vaginal Crème Davis, Divinity Fudge, Trash, Idexa, and Pigpen. Of course some things have changed.... breasts have been removed, nipple holes have closed up, and fresh ink has been added to an elbow here, a sphincter there. But their legends in queer circles are buttressed by inclusion in this vogue rogues' gallery.
Catherine Opie, Frankie, 1995
Chromogenic print
20 x 16 inches, edition of 8
Participant, Inc. Director Lia Gangitano and artist Ron Athey at the opening
At the theatrical center is performance artist and writer Ron Athey, whose own career has run parallel to Opie's in many ways, both reinventing fame and making pain bend to their wills. She has collaborated with him many times, even producing life-sized Polaroids of Athey as a modern day St. Sebastian. Athey is well known for subjecting his own body to exquisite public torture in bloody, operatic performances. Iconic is an overused word, but the description fits Ron Athey like a fist... I mean, glove.
Of course, Opie has gone on to create several series of memorable images with L.A. as her central fascination. The artist's small, black-and-white "Freeways" series (1994-95) is both elegant and conceptually rich; the emptiness of the man-made structures tweaks our thoughts of mankind's permanence and male machismo. Her "Houses" from 1995 depict the doorsteps of Beverly Hills and Bel Air mansions and are deadpan in their inherent critique of excessive comforts among the privileged - and presumably gender traditionalist - residents. Opie's 1997 "Mini-Malls" series shows those ubiquitous eyesores that serve a less affluent community. All of these images are devoid of actual people, yet eloquently trace the essence of contemporary humanity.
Two later series "Icehouses" (2001) and "Surfers" (2003) are perfectly installed in a cathedral-like side gallery, but feel less significant in the artist's oeuvre. The oversized shots of rainbow-hued ice houses in stark blinding snowscapes reflect the photographer's interest in color and black and white, this time within the same image. But one can't help but think of Scott Peterson's almost identical photographic conceit. The surfer images are shot from above and effectively convey a god's-eye-view; however any formal interest here seems accidental.
After traveling the United States and photographing gay women in their individual environments for her "Domestics" series, Opie has recently turned the lens on her own comfortable days of motherhood and art stardom for "In and Around Home," (2004-2005). If anyone still doubts Opie's gifts as a poet, these glimpses into her life might make even the most cynical misanthrope feel part of a community.
The opening night of "Catherine Opie: American Photographer" at the Guggenheim was a celebration of the artist's career and marked the first time the photographic series' were displayed together. Most New York Lesbian royalty was there - Sarah Schulman and Eileen Myles rubbing elbows with Patricia Cronin and Deborah Kass - as well as manly artists such as John Waters, Nayland Blake and Gregory Crewdson. Fiercely smart Rodney Hill, a partner in L.A.'s Marc Foxx Gallery and the actual donor/babydaddy of Catherine Opie's child was holding court in the rotunda. The artist herself, a beloved talent, was dressed in an Obama T-shirt and looked exhausted from accepting hugs and congratulations between the Louise Bourgeois sculptures. We all felt like a part of Catherine Opie's extended family. A headline for the perfect evening might read: "Local Lesbian Makes Good."
Doug McClemont
"Catherine Opie: American Photographer" is on display on several floors of The Guggenheim Museum in New York through January 7, 2009.
Catherine Opie will also have a solo exhibition at Stephen Friedman in London from 15 October - 15 November.
Doug McClemont is the former Editor-in-Chief of HONCHO, Torso, Mandate, Inches and Playguy. His writing regularly appears in publications such as Publishers' Weekly, Library Journal and Screw. He has written introductory essays for several monographs on contemporary art and is currently at work on a book of short stories entitled Little Morticians.
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