James Allan Curtis, known professionally as Diego Cortez, was an American filmmaker and art curator closely associated with the no wave period in New York City.
16 Facts About Diego Cortez
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Diego Cortez was born James Allan Curtis on September 30,1946, in Geneva, Illinois, to Jean and Allan Curtis.
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Diego Cortez's mother was a manicurist while his father was a warehouse manager at a steel company.
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Diego Cortez graduated with a bachelor's degree from the Illinois State University and received a master's degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1973.
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Diego Cortez moved to New York City in 1973, where he worked as a studio assistant to conceptual artist Dennis Oppenheim and later with designer and performance artist Vito Acconci.
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Diego Cortez went on to embed himself in the music and arts scene in the city while holding multiple jobs including working as a security guard at the Museum of Modern Art.
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Diego Cortez performed with Avant-garde artist Hermann Nitsch and was a founding member of the New York-based artists group Colab.
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Diego Cortez has a cameo appearance in Scott and Beth B's No Wave film The Offenders.
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Diego Cortez wrote the book Private Elvis, containing photographs of American singer and actor Elvis Presley during Presley's time with the army, that he found in West Germany.
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Diego Cortez was the NYC production advisor to Brian Eno on the no wave record No New York which was released by Island Records.
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Diego Cortez later declined an offer from Larry Gagosian for a directorship at his gallery.
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Diego Cortez continued to work as an art agent and curator, working with Brian Eno, and on the Luciano Benetton and Frederick Roos collections.
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Diego Cortez released an album, Traumdeutung, in 2014, which was an eclectic mix of music and sounds of his snoring.
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Diego Cortez was a member of the authentication committee for the estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, which ceased operation in 2012.
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Diego Cortez died from kidney failure at the age of 74 on June 20,2021, in Burlington, North Carolina.
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Diego Cortez had been in hospice while living in nearby Saxapahaw, North Carolina.