Do you know who Steve McQueen is?
If not, just ask your mom and watch her get all hot and bothered while she talks about him.
And then feel really, really uncomfortable.
I'm
no expert on the guy (my boyfriend just scoffed at me because I've
never seen "Bullitt") but Steve McQueen was just about the hottest
movie star in the 1960's. And, since I'm on a roll with the whole celebrities in art issue, you get to learn a little bit about the guy.
Specifically, about the last part of his life which was chronicled
by his wife, Barbara McQueen, through photographs. She's been touring
her collection with the exhibition "Steve McQueen: The Last Mile" for
the last two years and is making her final stop at Chandler Center for
the Arts.
The thirty photographs show private moments from 1977, when the couple met, to 1980 when Steve McQueen died of mesothelioma.
The featured images plus hundreds more are included in Barbara
McQueen's book that shares the show's title. This ultimate man's man
was a true adventurer to the end, exploring the highways in his vintage
pickup truck, flying antique airplanes and basically shucking all obligations of
being a Hollywood pretty-boy.
See it all at Chandler Center for the Arts...and be sure to tell your mom about it.
"Steve
McQueen: The Last Mile" at Chandler Center for the Arts, 250 N. Arizona
Ave., remains open until April 11th. For more info, call 480-917-6859
or visit www.chandlercenter.org.