Vandalized Art Show
Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:20 pm
Further information on how much further we need to go; how much work we have ahead of us. When I was young and active in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, I thought that prejudice would disappear in my lifetime. I now doubt that it will disappear in my grandsons lifetime. We ALL need to continue to work on it, though
.
Vandalized in Seattle
Divas of San Francisco Photo Show
The gallery in Seattle that is exhibiting 19 portraits of transsexual women from David Steinberg's book, Divas of San Francisco, was vandalized over Easter weekend, apparently by someone who was offended by the photos.
A heavy metal utility cover was thrown through one of the plate glass windows of Benham Gallery in downtown Seattle early Easter morning, March 23. On Saturday, March 22, while the gallery was open, someone also smeared feces on the window.
The SeattleTimes story about the incident is attached below, as well as Benham Gallery's press release, and links to other stories in Seattle media.
Marita Holdaway, curator of Benham Gallery, is courageously standing behind Steinberg's images, as well as those of three other photographers -- Paul Dahlquist, Fiona Aboud, and Sean Newman -- also being exhibited as part of Benham Gallery's "Erotic Beauty" show.
After being closed for three days, the gallery reopened on Wednesday, March 26. The exhibit continues through April 12.
Holdaway states in her press release that the vandalism of her gallery calls attention to the violence and stigmatization that confront transgender people every day of their lives. Steinberg has written that it was with an eye to educating people about the courage and humanity of transsexual women he met at Divas Nightclub and Bar in San Francisco that he put together both his book and an ongoing series of exhibits of portraits of transsexual women from Divas.
Transgender activist Jamison Green notes that free expression does not extend to vandalism. A civil society accommodates divergent opinion and freedom of expression, but abhors, denounces, and punishes violence. People who resort to violence to express their reaction to art, should be denounced by public officials, and the perpetrators apprehended and prosecuted.
Skye Ambrose, one of the women represented in the show, is philosophical about the vandalism at Benham Gallery. "Great art has never been well received at the time it was conceived," she says. "Most of the amazing work we study today in art classes was, at it's time, controversial and upseting. This art will live on. It will be remembered and that is what is important!"
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Photo gallery's window smashed
By Nancy Bartley
Seattle Times staff reporter
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
A window featuring a display of photographs of transgender women was smashed early Sunday in an act of vandalism the owner of Benham Gallery believes was committed by someone offended by the photos' subject matter.
A large Seattle utility-hole cover was hurled through the window at 1216 First Avenue, breaking the glass, slamming against a wall and damaging the floor when it fell.
The previous day, someone smeared feces on the window while the gallery was open, said Marita Holdaway, the gallery owner. No one noticed anyone until one of the gallery employees saw something on the glass, went out and checked and "saw it was something unpleasant," Holdaway said. Holdaway ran outside and saw a large, bearded man looking at the gallery and laughing.
When she was notified about the window being smashed, she placed a note on the plastic window covering.
"We believe our window was smashed by a person who was challenged by the content of this exhibition. The subjects of these artworks have experienced enough of this kind of cowardliness and violence. We are happy to discuss our curatorial decisions with anyone who wishes to talk with us instead of experiencing this kind of behavior."
The exhibit called "Erotic Beauty" opened March 5, featuring the work of Paul Dahlquist, David Steinberg, Fiona Aboud and Sean Newman. Also during the exhibit, which will continue until April 12, Steinberg led a discussion about his book, "Divas of San Francisco," featuring portraits of transsexual women who frequent San Francisco's Divas Nightclub and Bar.
The subjects of the photos have a difficult time living their lives, Holdaway said. "This is discouraging that someone would feel this angry."
According to Seattle police, there are no suspects and no estimate of loss.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
For Immediate Release
From: Benham Gallery <gallery@benhamgallery.com>
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2008 11:40:45 -0700
Subject: Gallery vandalized on Easter
On Easter Eve a large pane glass window was smashed with a metal
Seattle Utility cover at 1216 1st Avenue, Benham Gallery. Saturday afternoon
someone spread feces across our windows.
Marita Holdaway, gallery owner, placed this note on the plastic
that covers the broken glass until it is repaired Monday:
"We believe our window was smashed by a person who was challenged
by the content of this exhibition. The subjects of these artworks have
experienced enough of this kind of cowardliness and violence.
We are happy to discuss our curatorial decisions with anyone who
wishes to talk with us instead of experiencing this kind of behavior.
Happy Easter!"
Censorship is alive, violent and expensive in Seattle.
We would like to thank the Seattle police department for covering the
window and securing the premise!
If you have any questions please call 206-622-2480 and ask for Marita.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
URLs of news stories:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/l ... ry25m.html
www.sgn.org/sgnnews36_13/page3.cfm
www.kirotv.com/news/15693805/detail.html
www.komotv.com/news/local/16976126.html
www.seattleweekly.com/arts/blogs/thread ... ed_for.php
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE BOOK
For over five years, David Steinberg has been photographing transsexual women who frequent San Francisco's Divas Nightclub and Bar, the premier transgender club in the U.S. With this collection of intimate, revealing portraits, Steinberg honors the individuality, diversity, and fierce integrity of a group of people who are alternately ignored and fetishized, but rarely acknowledged and appreciated for who they really are.
These 59 full-page color portraits of transsexual dancers, bartenders, lip-sync performers, disc jockeys, regulars, and visitors reach beneath an often glamorous surface to present a broad spectrum of remarkable women in all their complexity -- their joy, sadness, strength, uncertainty, toughness, vulnerability and, most of all, their courage in embracing the core of who they know themselves to be in the face of a misunderstanding, frightened, and often hostile world.
Ordering information]
Autographed copies of Divas of San Francisco: Portraits of Transsexual Women are available for $25 postpaid (half price) from:
David Steinberg
P.O. Box 641312
San Francisco, CA 94164
[I know we have a policy here of not posting information about items that are for pay, but this is a fine offer for an important cause. Feel free to ignore it.]
Vandalized in Seattle
Divas of San Francisco Photo Show
The gallery in Seattle that is exhibiting 19 portraits of transsexual women from David Steinberg's book, Divas of San Francisco, was vandalized over Easter weekend, apparently by someone who was offended by the photos.
A heavy metal utility cover was thrown through one of the plate glass windows of Benham Gallery in downtown Seattle early Easter morning, March 23. On Saturday, March 22, while the gallery was open, someone also smeared feces on the window.
The SeattleTimes story about the incident is attached below, as well as Benham Gallery's press release, and links to other stories in Seattle media.
Marita Holdaway, curator of Benham Gallery, is courageously standing behind Steinberg's images, as well as those of three other photographers -- Paul Dahlquist, Fiona Aboud, and Sean Newman -- also being exhibited as part of Benham Gallery's "Erotic Beauty" show.
After being closed for three days, the gallery reopened on Wednesday, March 26. The exhibit continues through April 12.
Holdaway states in her press release that the vandalism of her gallery calls attention to the violence and stigmatization that confront transgender people every day of their lives. Steinberg has written that it was with an eye to educating people about the courage and humanity of transsexual women he met at Divas Nightclub and Bar in San Francisco that he put together both his book and an ongoing series of exhibits of portraits of transsexual women from Divas.
Transgender activist Jamison Green notes that free expression does not extend to vandalism. A civil society accommodates divergent opinion and freedom of expression, but abhors, denounces, and punishes violence. People who resort to violence to express their reaction to art, should be denounced by public officials, and the perpetrators apprehended and prosecuted.
Skye Ambrose, one of the women represented in the show, is philosophical about the vandalism at Benham Gallery. "Great art has never been well received at the time it was conceived," she says. "Most of the amazing work we study today in art classes was, at it's time, controversial and upseting. This art will live on. It will be remembered and that is what is important!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Photo gallery's window smashed
By Nancy Bartley
Seattle Times staff reporter
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
A window featuring a display of photographs of transgender women was smashed early Sunday in an act of vandalism the owner of Benham Gallery believes was committed by someone offended by the photos' subject matter.
A large Seattle utility-hole cover was hurled through the window at 1216 First Avenue, breaking the glass, slamming against a wall and damaging the floor when it fell.
The previous day, someone smeared feces on the window while the gallery was open, said Marita Holdaway, the gallery owner. No one noticed anyone until one of the gallery employees saw something on the glass, went out and checked and "saw it was something unpleasant," Holdaway said. Holdaway ran outside and saw a large, bearded man looking at the gallery and laughing.
When she was notified about the window being smashed, she placed a note on the plastic window covering.
"We believe our window was smashed by a person who was challenged by the content of this exhibition. The subjects of these artworks have experienced enough of this kind of cowardliness and violence. We are happy to discuss our curatorial decisions with anyone who wishes to talk with us instead of experiencing this kind of behavior."
The exhibit called "Erotic Beauty" opened March 5, featuring the work of Paul Dahlquist, David Steinberg, Fiona Aboud and Sean Newman. Also during the exhibit, which will continue until April 12, Steinberg led a discussion about his book, "Divas of San Francisco," featuring portraits of transsexual women who frequent San Francisco's Divas Nightclub and Bar.
The subjects of the photos have a difficult time living their lives, Holdaway said. "This is discouraging that someone would feel this angry."
According to Seattle police, there are no suspects and no estimate of loss.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
For Immediate Release
From: Benham Gallery <gallery@benhamgallery.com>
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2008 11:40:45 -0700
Subject: Gallery vandalized on Easter
On Easter Eve a large pane glass window was smashed with a metal
Seattle Utility cover at 1216 1st Avenue, Benham Gallery. Saturday afternoon
someone spread feces across our windows.
Marita Holdaway, gallery owner, placed this note on the plastic
that covers the broken glass until it is repaired Monday:
"We believe our window was smashed by a person who was challenged
by the content of this exhibition. The subjects of these artworks have
experienced enough of this kind of cowardliness and violence.
We are happy to discuss our curatorial decisions with anyone who
wishes to talk with us instead of experiencing this kind of behavior.
Happy Easter!"
Censorship is alive, violent and expensive in Seattle.
We would like to thank the Seattle police department for covering the
window and securing the premise!
If you have any questions please call 206-622-2480 and ask for Marita.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
URLs of news stories:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/l ... ry25m.html
www.sgn.org/sgnnews36_13/page3.cfm
www.kirotv.com/news/15693805/detail.html
www.komotv.com/news/local/16976126.html
www.seattleweekly.com/arts/blogs/thread ... ed_for.php
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE BOOK
For over five years, David Steinberg has been photographing transsexual women who frequent San Francisco's Divas Nightclub and Bar, the premier transgender club in the U.S. With this collection of intimate, revealing portraits, Steinberg honors the individuality, diversity, and fierce integrity of a group of people who are alternately ignored and fetishized, but rarely acknowledged and appreciated for who they really are.
These 59 full-page color portraits of transsexual dancers, bartenders, lip-sync performers, disc jockeys, regulars, and visitors reach beneath an often glamorous surface to present a broad spectrum of remarkable women in all their complexity -- their joy, sadness, strength, uncertainty, toughness, vulnerability and, most of all, their courage in embracing the core of who they know themselves to be in the face of a misunderstanding, frightened, and often hostile world.
Ordering information]
Autographed copies of Divas of San Francisco: Portraits of Transsexual Women are available for $25 postpaid (half price) from:
David Steinberg
P.O. Box 641312
San Francisco, CA 94164
[I know we have a policy here of not posting information about items that are for pay, but this is a fine offer for an important cause. Feel free to ignore it.]