ReadysetDC A CREATIVE URBAN ENTERPRISE

Words w/ Dana Ellyn + Matt Sesow

Reported by Justin

We live for the art…. it tends to be the focus of an inordinate amount of our conversations. To have a wedding in any traditional manner would have been totally out of character.

Tomorrow at 6:30pm, two DC artists will wed. This wedding will take place as the opening reception to their show “Til Death Do Us Part” at the Long View Gallery. I first heard about this last fall at Long View Gallery’s grand re-opening and immediately I wanted to know more. We had the chance to check out their live-work spaces (Matt’s in Adams Morgan, Dana’s downtown) and chat about their art and relationship.

How did you start creating art?

Matt: I pretty much started painting as a joke and a way to socialize with some art school graduates. I graduated with a bachelor of science from college with a computer major. I hadn’t took any art classes, I’m self taught, or “self-teaching”.

Dana: I got start when I was just a wee child. Crayons were my medium. One of my early drawings at about the age of 5 (and my most infamous) was a nude drawing of my aunt and uncle. Her boobs were slung over her head as a wedding veil and his penis was tied around his neck as a tie. I sure wish my parents had saved it.
(Which remind me of one of my favorite songs, “Nancy Drew” by Tuscadero)

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What about your style is unique?

Matt: I paint from my experiences and not for profit. I never wanted to be an artist or painter. I find that it is satisfying and emotionally beneficial to me. everybody’s life is unique, so I recommend painters paint from their life experiences… be original and get messy.

Dana: I take risks. I don’t sugar coat. I don’t create pretty pictures or hide behind vague abstracts. There is a vibrant art scene that focuses on work that relies on photoshop filters, images that came out of a printers, and  wheat pasted images stuck to buildings. But I’ll just stick to enjoying the view and leave the creation of it up to others. I am going to continue with my purist methods of applying paint to canvas with brushes (and sometimes my fingers too).

What is your usual process in creating a work?

Matt: I live and paint in a tiny apartment. There is paint all around me and there is no avoiding it. I do something with the paint every day. It is my full-time passion and profession now.

Dana: A decent amount of brainstorming, reading, sketching, caffeinating and/or drinking comes before any paint hits the canvas. Every painting has a story to tell. During the many hours it takes to create a painting that story may morph. I love the process and relish in the times that I struggle to make the painting work.

How did you two meet?

Matt: We met at one of my solo shows at Aroma in Cleveland Park…

Dana: …in 2001. We emailed a few times and then it wasn’t until over a month later that I got back in touch with the business-like request to see more of his work and his studio. He invited me over, we had a few beers at his place, then out to dinner followed by a few more drinks around his neighborhood in Adams Morgan. Then he invited me back up to see his films. A 100% innocent night -not even a kiss. We met up again the next morning (for juice & wheat grass shots), set up a date for the next evening (at HR57). We’ve been dating ever since.

Was the wedding ceremony a part of the original idea of the show? How did you decide to have your wedding as an opening reception?

Matt: Yes. We were going to get married in vegas or something private, but decided we wanted to include our families. I have done several shows over the past 16 years, so having another show with a 5 minute break to get married seemed reasonable. It won’t be fancy or typical.

Dana: We had many years of circular “should we/shouldn’t we” discussions about marriage. When we finally settled on the fact that we would make it official, the next step was “how”? Vegas? Maybe. At an art show of our work? Definitely.  We live for the art…. it tends to be the focus of an inordinate amount of our conversations. To have a wedding in any traditional manner would have been totally out of character. At Long View for the opening of our Till Death Do Us Part exhibit there will be no white wedding dress, no torturous throwing of the bouquet, no fancy dinners, no gifts to be given. If someone wants to get us a gift they can buy a painting from the show – that way, they are actually buying themselves a gift! We live simply. We live separately. That’s all staying the same once we’re married.

What is the overall message of “Til Death Do Us Part” in your opinion?

Matt: That we are here to stay in DC, setting up our roots as DC artists. We are doing it without spending a ton of money, we don’t want gifts, if you like our art … great, if not, that’s fine, we’ll keep painting…

Dana: My critiques of traditional marriage, children and suburbs in my paintings are in no way to say those things are ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’. They are just not for me. Matt and I are 100% devoted to each other and the path we’ve carved works perfectly for us. We don’t live together and we will not be having any children. Ever. We love DC and the roots we’ve both set here are very important to us. We hope people enjoy the show and have a good time. I loved every minute I spent creating work for this show. Not everyone will like my paintings – some people may be downright put off by them. But that’s OK, I’m used to it.

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Till Death Do Us Part
Opening reception & wedding
February 5th, 2010
6:30 – 9:30pm
(nuptials begin around 7:30pm)
Long View Gallery
1234 9th Street NW
RSVP to info@longviewgallery.com

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All photos by Tracy Clayton. Click to zoom. (First 19 are of Dana’s studio, the latter 24 are of Matt’s)