THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 7, 1996 TAG: 9603070050
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 132 lines
IN THE EARLY EVENING, after the customers and the other artists have gone home, d'Art Center artist Steven Wolf likes to turn up his music real loud and paint.
It wasn't rock 'n' roll Wolf was listening to on a recent night. It was the great mid-20th century opera star Maria Callas. Issuing from his CD player was Callas' dramatic rendering of ``Vissi d'arte'' from Puccini's ``Tosca.''
The aria translates: ``I have lived for art.''
Wolf, 46, leaned back, relaxed, and eyed the works that hung floor to ceiling all around him. Since 1994, when he moved into his large studio in the downtown Norfolk art facility, he has kept the space brimming with major canvases and delicate figure drawings.
At 6 p.m. Friday, a show of recent paintings and drawings by Wolf opens in the d'Art Center's gallery, along with ceramic sculptures and vessels by Gary Schlappal.
Two weeks ago, however, Wolf was still deciding what he would show. But he had arrived at a theme - paintings and drawings that convey what Wolf has experienced since he was diagnosed HIV-positive in 1985.
These were not depressing illustrations of a man anticipating growing ill, taking medicine or developing sores or other AIDS symptoms. Rather, Wolf's images ``reflect emotional states I have worked my way through,'' he said.
A lifelong artist, Wolf was previously known for more traditional landscapes. From 1975 to 1989, he taught art at Tidewater Community College. Over the years, he has shown in many regional galleries and arts centers, and is included in a juried drawing show opening this month at Muscarelle Museum of Art in Williamsburg. He is scheduled for a solo show in June at Nancy Moore Fine Art in New York.
``This is not a single-minded statement about HIV. I'm not waving a banner that says `Fight AIDS.' It's broader than that.''
Even still, he acknowledged, ``I wouldn't be doing it if I weren't HIV-positive.''
The large canvases contained images of strange landscapes seen from the air, as if from a bird's eye view. Many of these vistas featured trimmed hedges in snaky shapes. Some contained the handsomely drawn figures of men - often floating, usually nude, jumping over or sliding down the hedges.
The hedges first came to him in a dream eight months ago, he said. Being deeply concerned about the natural environment, he imagined the hedge represented ``civilized nature.''
``But, I just don't know. I may have this wrong,'' he said two weeks ago.
Days later, he revised his view. ``I think the hedge means a lot more than I did. I'm only half aware of these things while I'm painting them. But, I think a lot of obstacles are tied up with that damned hedge.''
With HIV status, obstacles certainly arise - in relation to friendships, medical care, sexual relations.
In exhibiting art on the subject, Wolf hoped his honesty might somehow encourage others who are HIV-positive. He had decided he didn't mind being a role model of sorts.
``How can you view HIV as a positive thing? But, if you can't see it in terms of a growth experience, what's the point?
``Because of my art, I might be in a position to be a little more publicly exposed than other people. And I'm kind of a regular guy, too, which is a good thing for people to know,'' he said.
His artist's statement, to be displayed by his work, was more revealing than most:
``As an openly gay man and a long-term survivor of HIV, I have a deep-rooted interest and involvement in the HIV/AIDS epidemic. My works describe an allegorical journey in which a character deals with fears, anxieties, hopes and hopelessness - all springing from HIV infection. It's my own brand of truth, I suppose - the truth of expression and creation - wrapped in a semi-autobiographical format.''
Wolf is among the very lucky ones. Eleven years since his diagnosis, he remains healthy.
And now, with powerful new drugs recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration, his chances for continued health appear improved.
``I was all set on kicking the bucket, too,'' said Wolf, a robust, physically fit man with a buoyant sense of humor. ``I think they caught me in the nick of time with these new drugs.''
He counted his blessings.
``My health has been good, and I haven't lost but a few friends really. I've been a lot more fortunate than some other people.''
Only a small percentage of persons who are HIV-positive remain without symptoms for more than a decade, he said. Such people are called ``long-term nonprogressors.''
``I'm in that exclusive little club. For what reason, I don't know. The strain I was exposed to may have been less virulent. Or, maybe it's genetic.
``The religious people here at the center call it a miracle,'' he said, pausing. ``They don't get much longer than me.''
As he looked at his art, Wolf saw visual metaphors for his journey through HIV. But he wasn't yet clear on the meaning of these images that emerged from his unconscious. He focused on several paintings that featured classically drawn men floating in the sky.
``The floating ones. Hmmmm. Hard for me to say. I'm in the process of becoming. Becoming something.
``Upheaval is a word that comes to mind. And then, gaining peace from upheaval.''
He looked further. ``Those two look kind of mythical, like Greek gods. Ideal figures.''
The first time he drew one of these nudes, it reminded Wolf of Michelangelo's figures painted on the ceiling of the Sistene Chapel. So he painted out the chair and background, and painted in clouds. About the same time, a friend gave him a book of Michelangelo's poetry.
He felt he was being sent a message of sorts. He began to look harder at Michelangelo, and discovered a man so devoted to his art that all else took a back seat.
Wolf ended up naming his exhibit for the old master: ``Michelangelo's Message: Recent Works by Steven Wolf on dealing with HIV.''
``He was a hero to me. A hero across time, because he was so incredibly productive. Nothing would keep him from working. He was sick while working on the Sistene Chapel. He wasn't well a lot of the time. But he dragged himself in.
``Well, if he can drag himself in, I can drag myself in. And put some paint on the canvas.
``It doesn't have to be great. To make, to express, is the bottom line. There is nothing more important than that.'' MEMO: WANT TO GO?
What: Exhibit of art by painter Steven Wolf and ceramicist Gary
Schlappal
Where: d'Art Center, 125 College Place, Norfolk
When: Opens 6 p.m. Friday with a free reception. Continues through
April 14.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m.
Sunday.
How much: free
Call: 625-4211
Workshops: Schlappal, a nationally-known ceramicist, will offer
classes Saturday and Sunday; $20 per day. Call the center to register. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Motoya Nakamura, The Virginian-Pilot
Painter Steven Wolf...
by CNB