Creative beyond
categorization
Boston's South End
opens to artists like Paul Paturzo
by J.A.
Lopata
BOSTON, Mass. — Paul Paturzo sees himself as
part artist, part architect and part
businessperson.
And that’s one of the reasons that he loves the
South End Open Studios.
On Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 18-19, Paturzo
will be one of over 250 creative types who will
be sitting in amidst their work and business
spaces around Boston’s South End neighborhood
allowing people a close-up glimpse at what that
they do.
Some participants will have easily categorized
occupations, such as gallery owners who will be
sitting in their galleries presenting the work
of others, some will be artists who will be
showing their own work in their own studios, and
some will be designers displaying their fashions
or furniture.
But some in this burgeoning creative class, like
Paturzo, defy categorization. Paturzo is a fine
artist, an architect and a designer. He invokes
1960s and 1970s designers Charles and Ray Eames
when talking about his inspirations. “They were
terrific,” says Paturzo. “They saw design in
everything.”
So what you’ll see when you stop by Paturzo’s
office at 450 Harrison Avenue will be original
drawings, photography, and computerized art
imagery, as well as items from his architecture
and design portfolio. Some items will be for
sale, others will be for show.
It is the epitome of what an open studio should
be. He will be open to discussion, open to an
exchange of ideas and open to dialogue.
That sort of openness is how Paturzo has built
his business over the past four and a half
years.
About five years ago, he sensed that he was
outgrowing his position with Seitz Architects.
The first project he took on by himself was an
attic renovation, which he describes as “the
best thing” he ever did. That job opened the
door to many more jobs.
He describes his marketing as “mostly word of
mouth” from that time right up to the present.
Two and a half years ago he needed more studio
space, which is when he took up residence in the
South End’s SoWa (South of Washington Street)
district, and hired two full-time design staff
and a part-time administrator.
Because the activities of running a business
take up so much time and energy, he finds
himself spending more time drawing on the
weekends.
This past New Year’s Eve found him hunched over
his drafting table reimagining a design project
that he had spent four months on and was due in
two weeks. At midnight, he was building a model.
For a man who loves his work, it couldn’t have
made him happier.
The project was for one of many design
competitions that he regularly enters. These
keep him creatively challenged and thinking
outside the scope of some of his more task- and
deadline-driven bread-and-butter projects.
Also keeping him creatively connected are
classes in fine arts and design that he teaches
at his alma mater, the Massachusetts College of
Art, where he earned his bachelor’s degree. (He
acquired his master’s from MIT.)
One of the principles that he tries to impart to
his students is about making a personal
connection to your art. To that end, he asks
each class member to bring in “something from
their culture.” Paturzo also participates. In
the past Paturzo, who is 38, has brought in his
experiences concerning reaching adulthood in an
era coming to terms with AIDS. Most of the
pupils in his classes have grown up in a world
that doesn’t know a world without AIDS. It’s an
important connection for them and for him.
As an openly gay man, Paturzo seeks ways to give
back to the gay community, particularly since
most of his clients are gay.
Rather than donating art work to a recent
benefit for FreedomToMarry.org, he donated
consulting time. As a result, he’s working with
a lesbian couple that is renovating their “very
cool” 1950s-style ranch house.
His social consciousness also extends into his
design work.
Once dismissed as inferior design, Paturzo sees
those 1950s-style ranch houses making a
comeback. “They’re not pretentious,” he says.
“They’re beautiful and they’re efficient. They
get the job done.”
That type of beauty and efficiency is important
to Paturzo, who cites his desire to incorporate
“sustainability” into everything he designs.
He describes his style as “contemporary
organic,” though he also enjoys working on more
traditional projects that provide to him a
greater appreciation for details.
Paturzo has seen his business grow primarily
from following the projects that he finds
enjoyable. It’s through that openness — with
what he sees and what he hears and what clients
and potential clients and competitions bring to
him — that he is slowly and happily building a
career that he loves.
Participating in the South End Open Studios is
one of the ways he does that.
For more information on South End Open Studios,
connect to www.useaboston.com.
Photo Credit:
This piece first
appeared in "In Newsweekly: New England's
largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
newspaper."
September 20, 2004
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