The malignant, lingering
spectre of Puritanism stalks the land today, rattling
its chains everywhere from the Senate floor to
our exhibition spaces for contemporary art. Contemplating
this revenant has reminded me of my own encounter
with it here on Staten Island, back in the fall
of 1980. The Islands indefatigable champion
of the arts, Dan Werner -- whos run the
non-profit Art/Network for almost two decades,
but at that time served as curator of the first
Newhouse Gallery at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center
-- asked me to guest-curate a show in that space.
I did so, and it went off without a hitch -- almost.
What follows is an account I wrote and published
in a national magazine back in early 1981 -- a
commentary that seems to me, if anything, to have
gained in pertinence over the years. Ive
left it unchanged, to preserve its period flavor,
so keep in mind that I drafted this almost exactly
18 years ago.
*
Every once
in a while someone offers me the opportunity to
change functions drastically by curating an exhibit
instead of critiquing it. This hasn't happened
very often -- only four or five times to date
-- but when does I tend to accept; I find I learn
a lot from standing on the other side of the line.
Last fall
I received such an invitation from the gallery
of a cultural center in the heart of my own community.
I was born and raised in Manhattan, but I live
on Staten Island, and though most people think
of me as a "New York critic" (with all
the attitudes that presumably attach to being
rooted in Gomorrah), the community in which I've
chosen to reside, work, and raise my son is not
typically New Yorkish, nor even typically urban.
Separated from the metropolis by a half-hour ocean
voyage on one corner and the world's longest (then)
single-span suspension bridge on the other, Staten
Island is determinedly suburban and even small-town
in its appearance, politics, and attitudes.
Having lived
here for the last thirteen years, I feel myself
to be very much a member of my community. I'm
in the PTA, and a local civic association; I've
donated time and energy and whatever weight attaches
to my name to a good number of neighborhood self-help
programs. I pay taxes here, take part in local
elections, and think of myself as a fairly average,
unremarkable citizen.
There are
quite a few other people I know out here whom
I consider to be kindred spirits. And, since we're
all part of this community, I think that we --
and, for that matter, I -- represent "local
community standards" as well as anyone else.
I suspect
this is beginning to seem like a peculiarly autobiographical
digression, so let me get back to the story. Over
the years, I've familiarized myself with what's
happened and is happening on Staten Island insofar
as photography is concerned -- not much, to put
it briefly. So when I was asked to put together
this exhibit, I decided that it should serve an
educational function for the audience. To that
end, I structured the show around the silver-gelatin
print (what we commonly refer to as black
& white photography) as a unique and
rapidly disappearing vehicle for photographic
expression, and invited five photographers whom
I think of as master printers to exhibit extended
thematic groups of silver prints: Roy DeCarava,
Allen A. Dutton, Richard Kirstel, Michael Martone,
and Julio Mitchel. I titled it "Silver Sensibilities."
The result
was, if I do say so myself, a knockout: two large,
handsome, connected rooms filled with over 140
pieces of diverse and powerful work. I was excited
and provoked by the show, as were many of the
more than one thousand people who saw it during
its three-week run. Certainly it met my community
standards. Even the photographers seemed pleased.
But, shortly after it opened, the head of the
cultural center which houses the gallery received
the following letter of complaint.
*
Dear Mr.
S:
Last month
I had the pleasure of visiting the Newhouse
Gallery at Snug Harbor for the [John A.] Noble
Exhibit which was just glorious and for which
I thank you.
I visited
the Gallery about a week ago and had brought
some young members of my family. There was
an exhibition of photographs. I was very sorry
that I had suggested the trip to the Gallery.
Many of the photographs were outright pornography.
The exhibit had a generally low-class view
of life in mind I believe, but this is no
excuse to show pornography. This type of show
one would not expect to find in a "cultural"
center where one takes family and friends.
I think whomever is responsible for the choice
of exhibits should be reminded that Staten
Island needs a cultural center for the whole
family. I will now hesitate to suggest any
young people visit the Newhouse Gallery.
I should
think that if you wanted community support
you would give the community decent and not
degrading exhibits such as the one I have
mentioned. This is in my opinion not of a
"cultural" nature.
Thank
you.
Yours
very truly,
/s/Kathleen G--.