Gallery owner attacked for Iraq abuse ar
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| Sun, 05-30-2004 - 11:46am |
So much for freedom of speech....
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Prisoner%20Abuse%20Painting
Sunday, May 30, 2004 · Last updated 7:59 a.m. PT
Gallery owner attacked for Iraq abuse art
By LISA LEFF
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SAN FRANCISCO -- A San Francisco gallery owner bears a painful reminder of the nation's unresolved anguish over the incidents at the Abu Ghraib prison - a black eye delivered by an unknown assailant who apparently objected to a painting that depicts U.S. soldiers torturing Iraqi prisoners.
The assault outside the Capobianco gallery in the city's North Beach district Thursday night was the worst in a string of verbal and physical attacks directed at Lori Haigh since the artwork was installed at her gallery on May 16.
San Francisco police are investigating and have stepped up patrols around the gallery. But Haigh decided to close the gallery indefinitely, citing concern for the safety of her two children, ages 14 and 4, who often accompanied her to work.
Guy Colwell's painting, titled "Abuse," depicts three U.S. soldiers leering at a group of naked men in hoods with wires connected to their bodies. The one in the foreground has a blood-spattered American flag patch on his uniform. In the background, a soldier in sunglasses guards a blindfolded woman.
The painting was part of a show of the Berkeley artist's work that mostly featured pastel-colored abstracts.
Colwell stopped by the gallery Friday, but refused to discuss his work or the reaction to it, saying only, "I'm sorry if this is putting pressure on Lori."
Two days after the painting went up in a front window, someone threw eggs and dumped trash on the doorstep. Haigh said she did not think to connect it to the events at Baghdad's notorious prison until people started leaving nasty messages and threats on her business answering machine.
"I think you need to get your gallery out of this neighborhood before you get hurt," one caller said.
She removed the painting from the window, but the gallery's troubles received news coverage and the criticism continued. The answering machine recorded new calls from people accusing her of being a coward for moving the artwork.
Last weekend, Haigh said a man walked into the gallery, pretended to scrutinize the painting for a moment, then marched up to her desk and spat in her face.
On Thursday, someone knocked on the door of the gallery, then punched Haigh in the face when she stepped outside.
"This isn't art-politics central here at all," Haigh said. "I'm not here to make a stand. I never set out to be a crusader or a political activist."
In closing the gallery, Haigh was forced to cancel an upcoming show featuring counterculture artist Winston Smith.
For Haigh, who opened Capobianco a year and a half ago, having the chance to work with prominent artists fulfilled a lifelong dream.
"I kept thinking someday I'll have enough of a reputation where I could bring in my heroes of the art world, people like Guy Colwell especially," she said.
Haigh has received some expressions of support since closing the gallery. Her favorite: an e-mail whose writer said, "I'm sure that a few and dangerous minds don't understand that they have only mimicked the same perversity this painting had expressed." (me: How true!)
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On the other hand, I'm not so sure I'd want smaller children exposed to that sort of imagery, either. Out of respect for wee ones, I might try to make sure that the art is in an adults-only venue.
Tough call.
What I'd like to know is...
I realize that there is much more to art than economics. But does this woman want to sell the stuff? Who's buying? I'd like to see Trading Spaces do something with that!
Art is supposed to make an impact. Too bad the gallery's owner was put in danger by people's reaction to that art.
Hayashig makes a good point...>"indicating a wound in the American psychi"<. Is it not wanting to face the reality of what happened? That these monstrous acts
My first thought was that overused word...'denial'...violent denial at that.
For some...guilt, horror, an inability to be faced with the truth (or an artistic representation of such).
I'm not sure I'm reading your post correctly...just in case, it was the gallery owner who was attacked and threatened...not the artist.
As for an 'adults only' venue...most private art galleries are.
You could very well be right about this artist. Like many I make what is called "bread and butter" art so that I am able to create other work that a deep expression of how I feel about things.
>>>And you never know who will buy it...and perhaps the artist doesn't care if anyone ever buys it<<
absolutely, even though it may be more difficult to sell it is certainly worth it to an artist to be able to have it shown in good gallery. And you are right, you never know who will buy what in a gallery. There is nothing predictable about art and what appeals to the public.
>>What bothers me the most about this is the violence involved. It's like a 'bully mentality'. Bully the gallery owner, scare her, physically assault her, etc., in order to force her to censor what she displays in her gallery. THAT is what I find the most terrifying in this situation.<<
Yes this is despicable.
And ya, like I said in my post, there is alot more to art than economics. Thank heaven, too!
I didn't even mention the violence, because I just don't see what's debatable there. Bullying just ain't right. No matter what the circumstances.
When reading about this initially, my first thought was of Picasso's "Guernica" so I thougth I'd post a link to the painting and some of it's history.
http://www.mala.bc.ca/~lanes/english/hemngway/picasso/guernica.htm
http://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/a_nav/guernica_nav/main_guerfrm.html
and here's an article about how the most powerful antiwar painting in the world was covered up for Powell's U.N. speech prior to the Iraq war:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2003/02/1570680.php
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