The world through his eyes

Torus Tammer

His dream was to make art his life.

As a child, Vietnamese-born David Goetz battled the traditional ideals

of those around him who often dismissed his dream as unrealistic and

devoid of credibility. Goetz, whose father was American, said that his

mother was a critical voice against his ambitions.

“My mother thought that art was not productive,” said Goetz, 36. “She

always wanted me to do business.”

In an effort to live within an environment that encouraged the

transitions of an artist, Goetz, then 16, packed his bags and left

Singapore -- his home at the time -- and arrived in San Francisco in

1982.

On Saturday, a series of his photographs, “Reminiscing Vietnam,” will

premiere at the Main Street Library in Huntington Beach.

“I am thrilled that my work is being displayed,” Goetz said. “It’s a

different look at Vietnam, the place my family left before the fall

happened and because my father was in the oil business, I was able to

grow up in Indonesia and Singapore.”

The Goetz tale picks up after his arrival in the Bay Area, where he

began working at Carl’s Jr. restaurant and putting himself through

school. By 17, he had earned his GED.

Goetz joined the military and served from 1983 through 1986. It was

through military funding that Goetz was then able to attend the

University of Houston where in 1992, he earned a bachelor’s degree in

business administration. He remained there and began studying art.

“I got my business degree more for my mother than for myself,” Goetz

said. “In 1996, I finally got my BA of Fine Arts and knew I wanted to

continue so I moved to California. I wanted to go to school out here and

my friend Doug was out here too. I got accepted at Cal State Long beach

and relocated in Huntington Beach because that’s where Doug lived.”

But in 1997, before the move to California, Goetz took a trip that

left a print on his future.

“I went to Vietnam and to Denang, which is Central Vietnam, the place

where my family was originally from,” Goetz said. “I wanted to know more

about my background so I went up there [Denang] and saw my oldest uncle

and got in touch with my roots.”

It is the physical manifestations of this and other insightful

journey’s in life that will be on display at the Main Street Library.

Marianne MacKenzie of the library said that she booked Goetz’s work

after being introduced to it by mutual friend Ulla Barr.

“My friend Ulla knew him, and she was the one who suggested we meet,”

MacKenzie said. “I loved his photographs. They were unique and looked as

if they were aged because of the type of paper and colors that he used.

But it was the images of Vietnam that were most unique. I had never

imagined it to be so beautiful.”

Barr was a fellow graduate student with Goetz at Cal State Long Beach.

Barr, who said she had always admired Goetz’s work, explained that she

believes in a tacit code between grad students “where you look out for

one another. I wanted to help David get publicity for his work so I

called Marianne MacKenzie to tell her about him [Goetz] because she is a

person who cares about people and their cultures,” Barr said. “I admire

that David showed this beautiful unseen part of Vietnam.”

Goetz said that the exhibit, which runs through May 19, is running in

conjunction with the April 30, 1975 fall of Vietnam.

He also elaborated about the many faces he wears as an artist.

“Because I am homosexual, most of my work is political and with

intent,” Goetz said. “The theme of my work is to push a different

perspective. Whether it’s about Vietnam or sexuality, my work is about

enlightening the public with the things they don’t get to see.”