Tony Curtis Artistic Beginnings

Released on = October 12, 2006, 10:51 am

Press Release Author = Camelot Marketing

Industry = Entertainment

Press Release Summary = For 50 years, art has been the secret inspiration behind
Tony Curtis' life. This is part of three of a three part article where Tony Curtis
discusses life, art and box

Press Release Body = Curtis was born in The Bronx, NY, as Bernard Schwartz, to
Hungarian Jewish immigrants. His father, Emanuel, was a tailor; his mother, Helen,
was a homemaker.

"Having been raised in a Hungarian-speaking home, I had difficulty making myself
understood as a child," he confides. "Art was a great outlet for my frustration-it
is a universal language."

Curtis\' family moved around quite a bit when he was a child and every time they
moved, he\'d throw items he\'d collected, such as skate keys or baseballs, into
shoeboxes and cigar boxes. "That\'s how my assemblages started," the actor-artist
explains.

It\'s easy to try to search for the meaning in the myriad boxes on display in Curtis\'
studio. At first, he denies that they contain any reflections of himself, saying he
prefers to "let objects speak for themselves." However, after showing a few more
boxes and talking about their meanings in detail, Curtis reveals otherwise.

"All have a little sense of reality," he mentions.

He shows one of the boxes that he created during the Vietnam conflict; in it is a
picture of a man being drawn apart by horses. Curtis explains that the horses
represent not only the divided Vietnam, but more.

"It\'s a symbol of what war does to all of us," he confesses.

Curtis recently taught box-making classes at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In
these classes, he told students about Joseph Cornell, a shy, eccentric box artist
who dedicated much of his life to caring for his cerebral palsy-afflicted brother,
Robert. In particular, he shared with them the story of how Cornell created a
special box for his brother, a delicate work that contained a "thimble forest"
within, seen through a skylight-like opening.

"He created a whole sense of art out of his love for his brother," Curtis explains,
a tiny smile growing on his face.

The students, inspired by the story, recreated Cornell\'s box as a gift for Curtis,
who was greatly moved by their gesture of thanks.

What a rare privilege for students to meet and learn from one of this generation\'s
greatest actors and artists.


This article is reprinted by kind permission of Jeff Marinelli, Publisher of Art and
Living Magazine. For more information please go to http://www.artandliving,com

About Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis, Hollywood legend and star of over 150 movies including "Some Like It
Hot", is also an accomplished artist. His work may be found in public and private
collections worldwide.
For more information about Tony Curtis art please call him at 702-736-1767 or visit
his online gallery at http://www.TonyCurtis.com


Web Site = http://www.TonyCurtis.com

Contact Details = Keith Hunt
8190 Orchard Street
Alta Loma , 91701
$$country

702-736-1767
keith@camelotmarketing.com
http://www.TonyCurtis.com

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