Trek" star teams up wHh HRC
20
VOLUME 20 . ISSUE 25
SINCE 1986
WWW. Q-NOTES. COM
19 Della’s Drag Rag
21 In and outs of suits
26 Duton die town
PPRIL 22. 2006
arts & lifestyle
From surrealist to found objects: Christian Thee
S.C. native comes home with a
spectacutar career and launches
into another
by David Moore
Q-Notes staff
A native of Columbia,
artist Christian Thee is
known around the globe for
his spectacular creations of
art. Regarded as one of
today’s leading practitioners
of trompe I’oeil painting, his
unique style began as a nat
ural extension of his work as
a scenic designer for the
theater.
For the uninitiated who
are scratching their heads at
this moment here’s a clue:
trompe I’oeil (tromp hi) n. pi
trompe I’oeils (loi)
1. A style of painting that gives
an illusion of photographic
reality.
2. A painting or effect created in this style.
In simple terms. It’s like painting a real
istic-looking door or a window on a wall
where there isn’t one. Thee actually paint
ed his entire Brooklyn studio and living
space in the style when the only light com
ing into the building was from an overhead
skylight.
But we’re jumping ahead. Let’s go back
to a time when Thee was a student at USC.
It was there that Thee got his first
taste of theatrical design when he was
appointed designer for
the local community
theater. Later he relo
cated to New York
and studied with leg
endary stage designer
Lester Polakov at
Columbia University.
Polakov went on to
open the Forum of
Stage Design in New
York and Thee joined
him on the teaching
faculty. During this
time. Thee also
worked as assistant to
another infamous
stage designer, Jo
Mielziner, and added
numerous Broadway,
regional and stock
productions to his credentials.
“The first show 1 had the chance to do
was the original version of ‘Hair,’” Thee
recalls. Thee worked on other such notable
New York stage productions as “Robber
Bride Groom,” “The Subject Was Roses”
and “The Boys From Syracuse.”
Now back to Thee’s trompe I’oeil studio
Artist Christian Thee in the studio.
in Brooklyn. Not surprisingly his abode
became infamous around New York and
he loved entertaining his friends there.
One particular evening. Thee was at
home alone watching television when a
friend called.
“It was about 10:30 at night,” says
Thee. “My friend said he had a dinner
guest who had heard about my house and
wanted to see it — so he asked if they
could stop by,”
That was Thee’s first
encounter with Bruce Barr,
the man who later became
his partner and has been
so for over 25 years.
“We had the theater
thing in common,” says
Thee. “He was working in
the garment business and
doing costumes for ‘Pirates
of Penzance’ and ‘Follies,’
so we had a lot to talk
about. He was very pleas
ant, so I invited him over""
for dinner. It was just a
very nice way to meet
someone.”
In the years that fol
lowed Thee and Barr often
leased out the exotic abode for parties, but
they always remained as hosts so they
could keep an eye on things.
Many milestones in Thee’s career
would occur during that time, as well. One
in particular came about when a photog
rapher for British House and Carden maga
zine came to take pictures of the legendary
residence.
“This photographer was talking while
he was taking pictures and he told me he
was friends with the royal family. 1 thought,
‘yeah, right’ so I didn’t give much more
thought to it at the
time. Later when he
was back in London
he called me up and
said he was having
tea and ‘watching the
telly with the Queen.’
“1 was showing
pictures of your work
to her and she want
ed to know if you
would consider
doing a portrait of
Prince Andrew for
his 21st birthday,’ he
said. I just blurted
out ‘yes’ immediately
before I would have
the time to think
myself out of it.”
The life-size portrait that Thee ended up
see MANY on 25
A dramatic example of Thee's trompe
I'oeil painting.
New gay cinema: 'Adam & Steve'
Film chronicles the lives of two gay
men who meet for the second time
after 15 years have passed
by Tim Nasson
Craig Chester’s plate is full. His cup
runneth over. But he doesn’t seem to
mind. In fact, he wouldn’t have it any
Craig Chester (center) in a scene from 'Adam & Steve.'
Other way.
The 41-year-old is currently starring in
the gay comedy “Adam & Steve,” as
Adam. But Chester also wrote the film
and directed it — and dances in it. Line
dancing, mind you. Not the stereotypical
bouncing around on a gay club dance
floor “dancing,” with your shirt off, show
casing your perfectly oiled
biceps and eight-pack.
“Adam & Steve” was com
pleted in 22 days; "It couldn’t
have been done without a lot
of under-eye concealer,”
chuckles Chester. “While
everyone else went home for
the night, I was editing and
rewriting and setting up shots
for the next day. 1 was lucky to
get four hours of sleep during
the three weeks we shot the
film.”
Not since “Trick” has there
been a theatrical gay comedy
with such star power.
“Adam & Steve” boasts
Chester’s best friend, in the
movie and in real life, Parker
Posey, as well as Tony Award
nominee Malcolm Gets as his boyfriend
Steve and Chris Rattan as a friend. That’s
not all. Academy Award nominee for Best
Actress, Sally Kirkland, also stars, as does
two-time Best Supporting Actress Oscar
nominee Melinda Dillon and Julie
Hagerty, Razzie Award nominee for
“Freddie Got Fingered,” yet best known
for “Airplane.”
“I am very lucky to have such a great
cast,” says Chester.
1 spoke to him the day his film was
released in Los Angeles. He.was planning
to attend two showings of his film that
day. “1 am going over to Pasadena this
afternoon,” he says, “to give it some sup
port and to gauge the audience reaction.
“And later tonight, 1 will be going to the
Sunset theater with Sally [Kirklandl to sit
in the back and get a feel for what the
West Holl'ywood crowd thinks of the
movie.”
Chester, who was born in California,
raised in Texas, moved to NYC and now
divides his time between both coasts,
plays Adam, a Jewish goth boy, as the
film begins in 1987 at a gay club in NYC.
He meets Steve, a dancer at the club
replete with RED Speedwagon hair. The
two go home that night, but something
goes horribly wrong. Steve has done a
few too many lines of coke that have been
laced with baby laxative. And the movie
spares the audience nothing in the way of
imagination.
“1 had to do that scene that way,”
laughs Chester. “1 had heard a story in
high school, of someone shitting them
selves, uncontrollably, while having sex
and thought, can there be any more
embarrassing experience during a first
time?” Apparently not. And, for the
record, 1 asked Chester if he was lying
about the ‘high school’ story and if the
scene was not based on an experience
more closely related to him. “It wasn’t,”
he says, nonchalantly, which leads me to
believe he is telling the truth. “Aspects of
the movie are autobiographical. When I
sat with Malcolm, before 1 wrote the
film, we talked about experiences we
each had with boyfriends growing up
and some of the real life events are
incorporated into the movie. And Parker
Posey, she always wanted to play a
comedian in a movie who was the only
see ADAM on 24