MURDER ART

Last Thanksgiving, a certain city council president who shall remain nameless sparked quite a stir here in Northeast Florida over MOCA’s display of a photograph he deemed “pornographic.” His assertions were met with an intense reaction from our community, a swift kick from our mayor and, as a result, the photo in question remained on display.

A little over a month later, in France, the offices of political satire newspaper Charlie Hebdo were attacked by Islamic terrorists in retribution for the paper’s depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. Twelve staffers of the newspaper were murdered in the #CharlieHebdoMassacre.

This weekend, just outside Dallas in Garland, Texas, a politically motivated anti-Islam event staged as a “Muhammad Art Exhibit” and cartoon contest was the flashpoint of fundamentalist violence. Two gunmen opened fire as the evening was winding down, wounding a security guard. Police officers, hired as security for the event, took the two gunmen out. 

Without sweeping the sheer insanity of such an occurrence on U.S. soil under the rug, there are ideas to be discussed, plans to be implemented, and lessons to be learned from it that apply directly to the fervent and healthy recent growth of The Arts in the 904.

It should go without saying, but artists must have the freedom to explore their visions with impunity, and museums and galleries must be able to show the work of those artists they deem worthwhile, for whatever reason and based on whatever criteria that steers their missions, without fear of violence. 

It is that simple.

Not all art is pretty, nor created to be monetized, merchandised and hung in a Starbucks or suburban entry hall. Some art is created to give tangible expression and an above-the-madding-crowd volume to communicate powerful — and often controversial — ideas about society, religion and politics.  

Now, don’t get me wrong; nobody hates haters and hate groups more than I hate them. The anti-Islam group responsible for this situation is shady at best, and was clearly pulling a fast one, hiding behind the auspices of an “Art Exhibit.” Unfortunately, the reality is that, to fundamentalist reactionaries — Islamic or otherwise — there is no difference between some douchebag white supremacist and a respected French satire. Nor, ostensibly, would there be any differentiation made for a thoughtfully curated exhibition at a museum like MOCA or The Cummer. It simply wouldn’t matter to them.

But, apparently, the “quality” and “intent” of the art does influence the thinking of a lot of other people, including some of our more prominent local artists and Arts advocates. As is normal in these types of situations, one’s viewpoint often shifts as danger gets closer to home, and issues of propriety, manners and decorum become more prescient. Even some of those who boldly emblazoned their Facebook pages with Charlie Hebdo-supporting messages of solidarity are offering a lot of pushback about what is “inflammatory,” what is “appropriate,” and what is “positive.” 

And good for them. 

In a time of crisis, cooler heads usually prevail, and we certainly want the type of leadership in our Arts community that’s not offering knee-jerk reactions or easy answers. However, we must remember the importance of honest, independent voices with alternative, challenging, and thoughtful ways of approaching everything from our humdrum daily lives to issues of grand and historic importance with unique and outside-the-box perspectives.

The Arts have been causing civil disturbances for centuries, from city-wide riots caused by symphonies and plays to Picasso’s “Guernica,” perhaps the single-most powerful visual protest against war ever painted. Like my buddy, local artist and Arts activist Chip “Keith Haring’s Ghost” Southworth reminded me on Facebook, 

“[A]nytime you mix art with religion or politics, it’s bound to piss some people off. Picasso said, ‘Paintings aren’t meant to decorate apartments; they are instruments of war.’” 

On the issue of artists’ rights and their place in our community, the truth is plain. No matter what the reason for, no matter what it depicts, no matter what the venue, intent or perceived quality of their piece, no one, ever, ever needs to fear violence or death as the result of creating or displaying art. To say that the incredibly short-sighted and hate-agenda-driven organizers of this gallery event “had it coming,” or “knew what they were doing” is the same as saying a prostitute deserves to get AIDS.

Reality check: We’re allowed to have and voice our opinions; violence and death are not optional consequences of being a scumbucket in a civilized society.

Without the unfettered freedom to create things outside the threat of violence, our artists, all artists, become marginalized, weakened, and compromised in a way that, eventually, shuts their processes down and silences their voices. Once the artists are undermined, there’s no way to stop the smaller abuses of power against art like the one that taught us how to #StandWithMOCA.