Gary D. Cole

Experience the culture wars between art and politics with Artless. The political climate is shifting and many Americans are questioning the policies of an administration they once trusted. Gary D. Cole’s memoir, Artless: The Odyssey of a Republican Cultural Creative, is one man’s attempt to come to terms with feelings of betrayal by his own political party.

Artless offers an insider’s commentary on the damaging effects of the convergence of arts and politics. After taking a leadership role in the Bush 2000 campaign, Cole was offered a dream job with the National Endowment for the Arts. The offer was soon retracted with no explanation. Only later was he told that the retraction was due to his involvement with the critically-acclaimed fringe productions Straight and Poona the Fuckdog.

More than a critique of politics, Artless is the story of a bourgeois bohemian who attempts to reconcile two mutually exclusive aspects his life: the arts and Republican politics. Both humorous and thoughtful, Cole tells his story of political and artistic self-discovery as he asks the hard question: can the arts and politics work together?

For more information: ooligan.artless@pdx.edu

ISBN: 978-1-932010-12-1
5 ½” x 8 ½”, softcover
320 pages
$19.95

About the Author

Gary D. Cole

Gary D. Cole was raised in the Chicago suburb, Winnetka. He graduated from Williams College in 1981 after spending his junior year at the University of California at Berkeley. Interning for a year at a London law firm inspired Cole to pursue a career in law. He attended Stanford Law School in Palo Alto, California, and–upon graduation–worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, where he weathered the Iran/Contra scandal. Eventually entering the private sector of law, Cole worked for Covington & Burling in Washington, DC before transferring to Ball Janik & Novack in Portland, OR, where he became a partner.

Cole’s love for theater began when he landed his first role in a production of George Bernard Shaw’s Major Barbara as an undergrad. Since then, he has performed in countless productions, co–founded two theater production companies–CoHo Productions and StageDirect–and written the play Bodyhold, which was inspired by the international intrigue Cole witnessed as a London legal intern and cia lawyer.

Cole’s political activities began in Berkeley, where he participated in voter registration on behalf of George H.W. Bush’s presidential bid in 1980. Having a firm sense of civic duty, Cole continued to remain involved in politics through the 2000 election when he played a prominent role in the Oregon campaign efforts for George W. Bush.

Following the election of President Bush, Cole was awarded a Presidential appointment in the National Endowment for the Arts. Only days later, the offer was retracted with no explanation. Eventually, Cole learned the retraction was due to two fringe productions associated with his company StageDirect. Cole then moved to North Carolina, where he wrote his memoir, Artless, in an attempt to make sense of what had happened to him. Cole resides in North Carolina and continues to remain active in the world of theater.