by Jessica Carreras
Debate has erupted over the postponement – or possible cancellation – of an exhibit scheduled to open Friday, May 15 at the Affirmations Pittmann-Puckett Art Gallery. The body of work by local photographer Kristin Kurzawa consists of photographs of femmes in performance, taken at a Drag King Conference she attended.
According to some at Affirmations, the photos do not meet their "family-friendly" standards for artwork and photographs to be shown at the center.
Kurzawa said she had been in talks with Social Enrichment Coordinator Maureen Jones for months about the exhibit, and that Jones had personally seen and OK'd the photos, which include images of full-figured women dancing or performing – some in undergarments or garters, but none showing more skin than a woman in a bikini.
Kurzawa then began to put the photos up last Wednesday, was working on printing and framing additional works and began to plan a burlesque show for the opening night. However, the green light for the show quickly turned red after the first of the photos were hung.
On May 9, less than a week before the show was scheduled to premiere, Kurzawa received an e-mail from Jones saying
"While we fully appreciate the beauty of queer femme performance portrayed in the collection, the images do not meet the agreed upon PG-13 or family friendly nature of our community gallery. We have decided to cancel the opening and the show."
For Kurzawa, the news came as a complete shock. We had a show that's been booked for months. Everything was great and then I get this strange e-mail from Maureen Jones," she said, adding that she found no written evidence in her contract or the Affirmations Web site detailing a "family-friendly" policy. "It's just absolutely fascinating to me that a gay and lesbian center can't support the work of a lesbian artist showing queer femmes dancing."
Michael Coleman, the center's director of communications and development, explained that the policy is more of an internal one, and is not formalized in writing. He blamed the last-minute decision to pull the already-approved exhibit on a communication problem between Jones and executive staff members. "I don't know how that approval was given, but I do know that clearly there were some communication issues that need to be ironed out here at the center," he said.
"We certainly could have improved communication with the artist all the way around on this and moving forward we'll try to do a much better job."
However, Coleman added that the decision to pull the show came after much discussion about the nature of the work, which he and others in a closed meeting decided was too focused on sexuality to appeal to the broad age range of visitors to Affirmations. The center features programming for youth, seniors and everyone in between, as well as families, who often bring children as young as infants. "The sexual nature of some of those images" was the main concern Coleman cited. "The feeling at that meeting was that the exhibit was a bit more focused on sexuality than what was desired."
Kurzawa commented that other exhibits have included photos and paintings of full and partial nudity. Most recently, an exhibit titled Gods and Goddesses by local artist Felecia Hunt-Taylor featured photographs of nude men and women with paint on their bodies. In addition, a painting of a nude woman holds a permanent spot on the wall facing the back staircase of the center.
Coleman retorted that the nature of those images was seen by Affirmations as vastly different than Kurzawa's femme performance work. "There's a difference between nudity and sexuality," he said. "The very nature of a burlesque show, that's a little more sexual in nature than nudes and semi-nudes."
Affirmations Chief Administrative Officer Kathleen LaTosch, who was also present at the meeting regarding the exhibit, agreed. "We're not a bar, we're not an adult-only space," she commented. "We're for people of all ages, so the images that are up in the center have to be appropriate for all viewers."
Kurzawa disagrees, both with the idea that her photos are sexual in nature, and that they're not appropriate for younger viewers.
"Women who are sexy or women who are dressed in a sexual manner are considered immediately by many as being sexual or whorish," Kurzawa said. "But I looked at the nudes that were there last year (in Gods and Goddesses) and men are dressed similarly, or in nothing, but those are considered powerful images.
"These women have nothing to do with sex…they were having fun dancing," she added. "There was nothing sexual or sexy about it. It was sensual, but there was no sex. The problem is that they have flesh."
And, according to Kurzawa, many of the images slated to show at Affirmations were also in her March exhibit at Shaut Gallery in Ann Arbor, which was open to all ages. "I had a 2-year-old, a 3-year-old, a 6-year-old at my opening. I had teens from the community there," she said. "I had talked to parents before hand about the subject matter and both were excited to show their daughters this expression of dance and different types of bodies."
But Coleman and LaTosch maintained that at the meeting held regarding the exhibit, the overall feeling was that the photos were not appropriate for youth.
Moreover, said Coleman, there was internal debate over whether or not the exhibit was the best one to have up during Motor City Pride, held directly outside of the center. "That's how the conversation began," he explained. "Our interest is to have a gallery exhibit, particularly for Pride month, that is as inclusive and broad as possible – to try and capture as many facets of the LGBT community as possible."
Coleman said that though there were no plans in the works, the center would consider showing Kurzawa's work at a later date, possibly in an adults-only gallery space, or with a disclaimer for parents. "At times, we're going to have exhibits that move closer and closer to that line (between adult and family-friendly)," he said. "…so, something that says the images may be adult in nature so that the parents walking in may have the opportunity, if they choose to bring their children, they'll know in advance that this could be an educational opportunity and they can help younger people get some context."
But for Kurzawa, it's not a matter of caution – but one of suppression. "The censorship that Affirmations performed is against women and the sensuality that the women performers are exhibiting," she said. "What makes me really sad is that if the gay and lesbian community center can't support the work of queer people about queer communities, then who can?"
What do you think? To see more of Kristin Kurzawa's work, visit http://www.kristinkurzawa.com and sent comments to BTL.
