Juniper Rag, V.3 Shift Cover Announcement
Congratulations Curtis Speer (front) and Luise Eru, Brazil (back).
Your art was selected for the V.3 covers of Juniper Rag!
On a recent trip to Provincetown, we picked up a coffee table book at our friend’s home, simply called “eleven”. Inside were the captivating photos made by Curtis Speer. We were pulled in immediately by the compositions, lighting and mood. A visit to his website reveals choices of subject matter ranging from Dutch-era styled still lifes, brilliantly lit, moody and delicate chiaroscuros to seaside vignettes, travel photography and a compelling series of images from a concentration camp. Every series has a story. Among landscapes and equine abstracts you find some rather stunning self-portraits. Speer celebrates greenery, organic materials, landscapes and quintessential Cape Cod imagery as much as the male form. He uses himself as subject, his body and masculinity as a gay man who sadly suffered abuse as a child is a part of many of his narratives, sometimes vulnerable and continuously about light and form. His portraits tell his story, with autonomy in the way he wants to share it. There is so much power in that kind of expression. There is a significant amount of work out there about women’s bodies and the therapeutic effect of taking power back after abuse, but you seldom if ever see artwork about men’s bodies or sexuality celebrated this way.
Simple folded and crumpled tissue paper wrapping porcelain dishes can keep your eye dancing around the image. It is interesting that painted still lives once celebrated the elevated styling of the home, of societal position, celebrating possessions, just as contemporary product images do for commercial businesses of today. All at once, Curtis straddles art history and the present. You may not think of the origin of such an image as a still life. From vignettes to his masculine self-portraits, you immediately understand that Curtis has stories to tell, as artist and subject, as photographer and technician. The choices Curtis makes when creating photographs, the organic details, the dried fruit, the snow falling in front of a seaman holding a life ring, these details are all a part of a narrative, each one showing you some vulnerability and strength of the artist.
Trained as a prop and set stylist for high-end retail brands, Curtis sees the details from two perspectives — the artist and the photographer. Light is the driving force, uniting his photographic work, which is all visually interesting and at the same time, worlds apart. From still lives to self-portraiture, Curtis Speer’s imaginative storytelling comes to life in images printed on cotton papers, giving them a tactile and unreserved presence. “Glass should not be a barrier between the work and the viewer, “ he said. He considers himself “an artist that uses a camera.”
In his own words…
My photographs take on the nature of a painting and tend to create dialogue with me and the viewer. My technique generally expresses a sensuality about whatever subject I capture; my work is visual, tactile, aural...and in some cases, what can be smelled and tasted. One cannot fully experience any work of art (visual, musical, or performing) without using most, if not all, of the senses through our visual, aural, tactile, and olfactory capacities.
By way of Portland, Oregon and LA and a few corporate gigs, Curtis has found himself practicing his passion in one of the most renowned artist communities in the US, Provincetown, Massachusetts. Curtis is the proprietor of CUSP Gallery, featuring fine art photography, paintings and salt glazed ceramic sculptures. Visit his gallery when in P’Town.
Curtis is selected as the V.3 cover artist and guest curator of our V.4 issue. Please see our CALL FOR ART.
Learn more about Curtis Speer here and CUSP Gallery here.
Curtis will offer one Juniper Rag artist the amazing opportunity to show at CUSP Gallery in Provincetown this spring/summer.
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Brazilian digital collage artist, Luise Eru recently created a cover for the Brazilian rapper Mac Júlia and musician Marquim D’Morais. Luise began making art in 2019, and has been causing quite a stir in the art scene. His digital collages create a narrative about the marginalized black people of his country that are destined to remain, unable to follow their dreams. His beautiful images, deep and layered with florals, color and positivity. He has no real academic training, but his talent is intuitive and his stunning compositions tell stories beyond the walls of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Eru already exhibited his work in various international venues, including at Doncaster Art Fair (England), the Other Art Fair (Chicago), AP Global (New York), Areanoir (London), White Paper Magazine online exhibition (Spain) and Derfner Judaica Museum in the Bronx, New York.
In every issue, we highlight creative businesses and lifestyle stories that encapsulate creativity, imagination and the impact of creative capital. We are so thrilled about this cover...and the contents of Juniper Rag V.3, Shift. In this issue we talk to Sara Mraish-Demeter (She/Her) of ARCKBoston -Art Resource Collaborative for Kids, Michael J. Bobbitt, Executive Director of Mass Cultural Council and feature the work of 26 artists from around the globe, many from the Worcester and Boston creative communities. We think it’s important to include Sara’s comment, “Thank you 🙏🏽 It’s an honor to be a part of a creative collective community to use art as a catalyst to achieve equitable education. Together, we can dismantle systemic inequities in our times through our creative connection. Thank you for the opportunity to create this creative space to remind us all, that creativity and imagination is in crisis right now - and we all need to stand behind the power of art.” We are very happy to throw some light on this creative crisis and actively work to keep the conversation going and growing about systemic inequities.
Images of Curtis Speer and CUSP Gallery used by permission. All rights reserved.
