By Derrick Mathis
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What am I doing here? About a month ago I was invited by Richard Lange, one of the owners of Circa Gallery, to participate in a multimedia group show entitled “Manhood: A Graphic Portrayal of Masculine Virility.” I thought he was joking, but he wouldn’t let up. “Oh, come on, you’re a writer, aren’t you?” I assured him that I was making a stab at being one, but I didn’t see myself as part of a multimedia lineup at an art gallery. Yet the idea of being courted as an artist must have gotten the best of me, because before I knew it I was tripping over myself telling him about a homoerotic poem I had written last summer. He suggested I bring it over to the gallery so he and his partner Thom Frerk could take a look.
To my surprise they liked the poem and said they could use something like it in the show. I still couldn’t see how my lovelorn verse could possibly be construed as artwork, but they dug it so I happily obliged. A couple weeks later they sent me a contract to cover the possible sale of my work, and I thought to myself, “These guys can’t be serious.”
My first viewers. Here we go. Four people slow down in front of my installation. I try not to look their way but can’t help myself. Are they reading? Yes, they’re reading!
