Some people keep a list of who they've slept with. Some people reveal that list. Andie McDowell's character does so in a scene from Four Weddings and a Funeral, making Hugh Grant seem like an inexperienced schoolboy in comparison. Tracy Emin did it in a tent.
Tracy Emin, Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995 (destroyed), 1995, tent and applique letters
Jason Villegas abandons his typical stretchy polo shirt fabric and goes back to the primal art making activity of drawing. On pieces of paper, he drew cartoon-like images of each of the 63 sexual encounters he remembers between 1995 and now. The drawings are hung at about eye-level in a snaking arrangement that allows you to look at them in roughly chronological order. One side of each page has the drawing in what looks like ink marker, and the other side has his description of the person (or persons) and the date in pencil.
Installation view
Called The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, this installation isn't one you want to just breeze through. It's worth it to look at both side of every drawing.
High School Janitor, 1995
I don't know how old Villegas was when he lot his virginity, but it may have been with this man, a high school janitor, in 1995. Which is pretty creepy.
Ghetto Gangster Chub Chaser, 1995
"Chub chasers" is just one of several unfamiliar sexual preferences I was introduced to that night.
Scrotum Pump Bear, 2008
Like scrotum pumping. Lord was I reluctant to type that into Google. But apparently it's a thing, and one that Villegas encountered once.
Emotionally Attached Pear Bear, 2009
A lot of Villegas' encounters are with bears.
Hobbit and Bad Idea Bear, 2009
Sometimes his descriptions are totally perplexing. I guess a "Hobbit" could refer to a very small guy, or even a guy who was a big fan of Lord of the Rings. And "Bad Idea Bear"? Was it a guy that maybe Villegas should have avoided? Maybe he met them at a comic book convention--that would explain the Captain Marvel logo and what I think may be the Captain America logo on their t-shirts.
Dolphin, 2009
Not all encounters are with "bear" types. Sometme in 2009 he hooked up with a sleek fellow he describes as a dolphin. This sent me back to Google, but in this case it appears to be a personal description. At least, I couldn't find "dolphin" used to describe a type of gay man. (There is a Gay Dolphin gift store in Myrtle Beach, though.)
The overall effect is amusing. Villegas seems to see his sexual partners as slightly ridiculous over-all, but the effect is not of Villegas making fun of them so much as he is making fun of himself. "Look who I end up with!" he seems to be saying. It's fertile comic ground--the bad date joke is a staple of stand-up comedy. And the presentation is perfect for the subject matter. Once you start, you'll find it hard not to finish going through this maze of guys.
Called The Good, The Bad and The Ugly runs through November 2 at Peveto.
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