Jesse Hazelip: “The Belle of the Brawl” at 941Geary

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Hide/Seek: A Curator’s Comment on the National Portrait Gallery’s Censorship of David Wojnarowicz

“Bottom line, if people don’t say what they believe, those ideas and feelings get lost. If they are lost often enough, those ideas and feelings never return.” – David Wojnarowicz

This quote is from the website of David Wojnarowicz; a posthumous warning that foreshadows the recent ethical plight between the National Portrait Gallery and “A Fire in My Belly”, a video by Wojnarowicz that was recently censored from the museum’s “Hide/Seek” exhibition. In the first major museum exhibition to focus on sexual difference in the making of modern American portraiture, “Hide/Seek” considers such themes as the role of sexual difference in depicting modern America; how artists explored the fluidity of sexuality and gender; how major themes in modern art—especially abstraction—were influenced by social marginalization; and how art reflected society’s evolving and changing attitudes toward sexuality, desire, and romantic attachment. Wojnarowicz created his video piece “A Fire in My Belly” as a response to the “agony and suffering” of his partner who at the time was dying of AIDS. The piece includes some fairly grotesque imagery to comment on the fragility of flesh but it’s the scene in which a cross is covered in ants that caused the video piece to be removed from the exhibition at the behest of Bill Donohue, President of the Catholic League who deemed the work “hate speech”.

In an act of solidarity, TRANSFORMER, an alternative art space in D.C., as well as the New Museum in NYC have decided to take a stand on the side of freedom of expression and are looping the Wojnarowicz video for all to see. Argot & Ochre supports the expressive creative projects of all voices and has invited MANIAC Gallery curator and art writer, Petra Royale Bibeau to share her comments on this topic.

(rebuttal for the removal of Wojnarowicz work from SEEK/FIND exhibition at the NPG)

WORSE THAN A CULTURE WAR, THE ABSENCE OF ONE.

By Petra Royale Bibeau

The censoring of the Wojnarowicz piece at the National Portrait Gallery due to claims of an “anti-Christian” sentiment has highlighted the importance of the nations alternative spaces. While the Catholic League For Religious and Civil Rights, an organization along side House Speaker John Boehner, behind the claim of the anti-Christian sentiment, boasts a mission to ‘protect religion and its freedom of speech’, citing the First Amendment, TRANSFORMER, a DC alternative space, has taken up the slack by hosting the video on loop in their storefront window.

With the National Portrait Gallery’s decision to remove Wojnarowicz’s work, the idea of freedom of speech has again become limited and exclusionary, removing the same right for others, and worse, without any acknowledgement of the major flaw in reasoning. Most concerning, is what Christopher Knight of the LA Times pointed out regarding Smithsonian’s Secretary G. Wayne Clough’s act of removing the Wojnarowicz piece from the exhibition: “Clough’s unfortunate decision gave tacit credence to their claim that the censored art is “anti-Christian.”

If it is called anti-Christian, it is so in the sense that the Church does not appreciate the legacy of their judgements during Wojnarowicz’s time viewed now through a contemporary context. Wojnarowicz’s ‘Fire In My Belly’ visually establishes a haunting account of both American governmental and (largely Christian) religious resistance of the epidemic during the height of the AIDS crisis in America by using larger/global iconographical reference. Specifically, the work addresses the harsh global realities, more so than personal commentary. The fact that Wojnarowicz’s use of a cross covered in ants as a symbol relaying the sickness of the sheer amount of people dying due to the rapid spread of AIDS coupled with the dismissal of the epidemic by the Church, is being called into question as anti-Christian precludes the real issue of historic relevance and integrity. Not only an integrity loss for the millions of people effected by this particular point in time, but also the integrity of a secular institution to successfully curate and develop full exhibitions historically and culturally relevant to an audience. The unfortunate removal of the work is an insult to LGBT community, as it goes without saying that this work is both historically accurate and relevant to the whole of the exhibition and is an important part of American art history.

Adding insult to injury, Clough’s decision of removal came across as apologetic as cited on the National Portrait Gallery’s website in a letter apologizing for offending anyone. Whereas Boehner and the Catholic League expressed no hesitation asserting a gross demand on the claim that a portion of Wojanrowicz’s piece is considered ‘anti-Christian’, The NPG, a secular institution gatekeeping cultural relevance in the public sector did not provide an appropriate context and/or rebuttal to this claim. This negligence alone begs the question: what is more insulting, the fact that the work was removed, or the fact that no one provided the appropriate context and insisted on its merit and worth for inclusion in “the first major museum exhibition to focus on sexual difference in the making of modern American portraiture”?

This is a simple and obvious issue of censorship that esteems to alter and erase history and to replace with an edited version by the same institution that the art was being made to address in an educated manner. The removal of this work seeks to destroy and discredit the very real struggle and public plight of the LGBT community specifically from the late 1970s onward in the face of gross negligence and superfluous public hate campaigns.This is no different than removing atrocities dealt to African-Americans during civil rights to appease a white majority and calling any reference to said atrocities anti-American, for example. The integrity of American intellect and history is at great risk with these types of decisions, most especially when responsibility is not taken for specific acts and reasoning that have shaped the American psyche for the past 30 years. This is not an acceptable decision, nor is it appropriate to censor a real expression from the point in time where this work was conceived under very real conditions, in response to very real attitudes that permeate our society to this very day.

In 2010, this issue is not as closely related to the 1990s culture wars as expected. This isn’t simply a question of conflicting cultural values, as this issue has only really been unilaterally dealt with, it gives the appearance as there are no real conflicts with the decision or consequence, or as Knight argues, the label itself. There has been little to no rebuttal from Clough or the Smithsonian, and it has largely gone (critically) unaddressed. As gatekeepers of culture, if that is in fact the position defined, it is their job to assure cultural relevance and historic accuracy for the public. Political and/or religious bargaining is not on the agenda. For now, if you wish to see the entire HIDE/SEEK exhibition, including Wojanarowicz’s piece, the missing video is being playing on loop in the storefront window of Transformer, an alternative space in DC.

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Interview With Glen E. Friedman x Shepard Fairey by Colin Day

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Quintetto by Quiet Ensemble

Quintetto is an installation by Quiet Ensemble based on the study of the casual movement of objects or living creatures used as input for the production of sounds. The basic concept is to reveal the “invisible concerts” of everyday life.

The vertical movements of the 5 fish in the aquariums is captured by a video camera that translates (through a computer software) their movements into digital sound signals.
 5 different musical instruments create a totally unexpected live concert. The installation was born with the collaboration of the Aesop studio
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James Roper x Thomas Wightman: Outside

James Roper recently emailed to share this video with me.

He writes:”In 2008 I co-wrote a short film with Thomas Wightman and Rob Bailey which went on to receive funding from Northwest Vision and Media’s Virgin Shorts 2008 competition. ‘Outside’ was shot over four consecutive days in locations around the North of England on a budget of £2,500. Directed by Wightman with production design by myself and Bailey the short had it’s premiere screening at Cannes Film Festival 2010.’Outside’ explores ideas about how advancement in technology has effected the way we communicate and how as a result it may impact our environment.”

Because WP is glitching, click on the photo which will link you to Vimeo for your watching pleasure. Enjoy!

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Bravo TV to Launch “Work of Art – The Next Great Artist”

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Bravo TV just announced the forthcoming launch of its new competition series, “Work of Art”, that aims to test the talents of 14 artists vying for the grand prize of a solo show at a nationally recognized museum and a cash sum. Among the judges will be Jerry Saltz – my all-time favorite art critic, and Jeanne Greenburg Rohatyn, curator and owner of Salon94 gallery in New York.

The critics responses are rolling in and they aren’t sounding too favorable. I personally appreciate what Brian Moylan writes for The Gawker: “Do you really think Charles Saatchi is going to have Jeff Koons over for margaritas to watch this show to discuss latching on to some undiscovered talent? Lots of art people don’t even own televisions, and if they do it’s so that they can look down on it and never turn it on.”

I question whether the art world at large will take such a show, or its “winner”, very seriously in the long run. The same standards will hold true of the “Work of Art” winner as hold true for working artists everywhere: the work must first be good, and it must continue that way for as long as you intend to have a career. Are these legitimate artists? Maybe. If they’re any good overall, do they need a television show to prove it? Doubtful. Is this show written for the art establishment and its gatekeepers? Certainly not.

It’s important to remember that this is just another television show. This form of media as a whole is faced with the threat of extinction as audience members switch to internet viewing in ever-increasing numbers. In order to compete with new media, the antiquated entertainment outlet opts for programming that shocks, stirs up drama, and portrays a deceitful caricature of reality. Basically, watch it if you find it entertaining. If it annoys you to no end, forget about it – it’s insignificance is obvious and its obsolescence is inevitable. The art world will go on.

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Fractured Translucence: Site-Specific Installation by Kimberlee Koym-Murteira Opens August 21st

It’s rare that I see video installation work that interests me both conceptually and aesthetically. The work of Kimberlee Koym-Murteira is the exception to this rule. Her work is engaging (some pieces are actually interactive) and thoughtful without losing its sense of beauty. I’m incredibly disappointed that I will miss her opening at 1078 Gallery in Chico, CA on August 21st, but you don’t have to. Follow the link to learn more about her upcoming show and to check out stills of her past installation work.

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