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Art Imitates Life In Bakersfield!
Topics: Burn the Witch IV, Bakersfield, Bakotopia, october, 2009, Citizen Journalism, Vandalism, religious expression, freedom, attacked, religion
Posted by matt Thu Oct 8, 2009 13:18:19 PDT
Viewed 1239 times
0 responses 0 comments Location: 2801 F St., Bakersfield, CA 93301

Art Imitates Life In Bakersfield
Did Burn The Witch IV stir up Salem-like hysteria among the townspeople?

*Update! 10-8-09, 3:35pm - Missing sculpture pieces "magically re-appear"at Metro Special Events. More news later...

By Matt Munoz, Bakotopia Editor

Art and conservatism has always maintained a shaky relationship.

Regardless of the mode of expression, trouble is often just a brush, stroke, or prayer away.

Should we be surprised that locally-produced Bakersfield art show, Burn The Witch is the latest target of vandalism? But why? Is it all just irresponsibility and miscommunication on behalf of everyone involved, or religious fanatics on a rampage? Who knows...

The Incident:

After preparing artwork displays for the upcoming Burn The Witch IV art show at the new Metro Special Events, 2801 F St., the week of October 1, BTWIV show curator Nyoka Jameson returned on Saturday, October 3, to find that some of the art show's pieces had been moved and vandalized.

Shocked by what she found, she immediately contacted BPD to file a report and phone calls were made. Some of the show's expensive pieces were found damaged, placed in the restroom facility, and in some cases - gone missing.

This story comes with it's own share of twists, turns, and cast of characters - including a weekly bingo group who share the same space where the art show is scheduled, the landlord, and the venue itself.

SCRATCHING YOUR HEADS? For those unfamiliar with Burn The Witch...

Burn The Witch is an annual all-female artist show held in Bakersfield, Ca. Founded by local artist, Jen Raven, this is the show's 4th year. Originally held at The Empty Space theatre & gallery on Oak Street, this year's show had outgrown the cozy confines of its original home.

Don Martin, who runs the Metro Galleries in downtown Bakersfield, offered Metro Special Events to the Burn The Witch board as a way to allow the show some much needed space.

Not your typical - "flowers and clouds type of art show", Burn The Witch features everything from the pretty to the provocative, including some themes that may offend the easily offended. Visitors to the show can take a peak into some of "the secret lives of women" not often allowed to shine in everyday life. For more information on past BTW events, please refer to the "related articles" links at the bottom of this post.

This is where the story gets testy and mysterious...

According to different reports, there were numerous complaints from a "group of individuals sharing the building space who were deeply offended" by some pieces on display after Oct. 1st.

Art curator, Nyoka Jameson, who received her share of complaints from the group in question stated she was sensitive to the requests, and covered some pieces on request prior to the incident.

Saturday Oct. 3, the art is discovered to be damaged, BPD is contacted, and anger erupts. After we break the story on Oct. 8 - the missing art re-appears. 

**According to Don Martin, who was out of town at the time of the incident, Metro Galleries and Metro Special Events is not affiliated with the weekly bingo group or any other parties. Martin expressed his disappointment with the incident and has been working actively with the artists to make repairs where needed and ensure the show continues without further interruption.

The Damage:

According to the BPD police report filed by Jameson, total damage was estimated at over 2,600.00. Some of the pieces included small, coffin shaped sculpture boxes made of wood, an 11"x14" framed piece, and a 6 foot sculpture. After being contacted, the artists were upset and angered.

The following are reactions by some of the artists whose art was involved in the attack. Whether the attacks were religiously motivated remains to be known...

Artist Micky Piercy ("The Crucifixion of Mother Earth")

"I knew my piece would be controversial.  That was my intention.  To me, the subject in question is the violation of our Earth ... But, I want people to understand what I meant by the title, "The Crucifixion of Mother Earth" is meant to be a parallel ... Christ was killed by his own people.  Our Earth ... she's being killed, by her own people; we continue to pollute, knowing the damage we're doing ... and that's what I was trying to say.  I never meant to be blasphemous or disrespectful of the Christian faith in any way.  I was raised Pentecostal; I was raised in the church.  And while I don't consider myself to be a 'Christian' I do have a profound respect for other people's religious beliefs. 
 
This sort of thing just goes to show how ignorant people in Bakersfield can be, when it comes to art, and artistic expression, and interpretation of art.  My work was not meant to be malicious or harmful; I was just expressing myself about something that is important to me.  We're really killing our planet ... and if we don't change our behavior soon, there won't be a planet for our children.  If the people who had damaged my work had known what the piece represented, maybe they would have seen it differently?  I don't know.
 
This piece took me three weeks to complete.  It's a personal, meaningful piece of me, that I was giving to the world.  And these people had the blatant disrespect to not only move it and damage it ... but to put it in the bathroom?  That was so shocking, that they'd take the trouble to go that extra step, to disrespect my artwork in such a mean way.  I was just so shocked.  It's just amazing to me, that people could be so narrow minded, and behave so badly.
 
These people are grown adults; they should know better!  They should know better than to touch, to damage something that doesn't belong to them.  They took it upon themselves, to uncover the piece, to damage it, and to move it with no thought at all for how their actions would affect our show, or the venue itself ... nobody is going to want to display artwork there, after this!  I mean, who's going to even want to rent that space, knowing how the people there behave?  This is vandalism, plain and simple.  The artists who left their artwork at that hall did so with the understanding that their artwork would be respected and handled with proper care.  How are they going to feel, now?
 
This was my first time, ever, to be involved in an event like this.  I've been living, as an artist, in this community, sure; I paint murals for businesses and private homes; I painted the gymnasium at the Memorial Hospital pediatric center.  But this was my first actual fine art exhibit.  And this has made me even more determined, to get more involved, and to become more pro-active in MY arts scene, in Bakersfield.  I want the Underground, the Outsider scene in Bakersfield to grow, to flourish!  And I'm going to do more to help make that happen.  I mean, when I saw the artwork that the other women had dropped off for the show ... I was blown away!  The talent of these women is phenomenal!  ... God.  Was it so necessary for those awful people to attack something they couldn't understand?  Couldn't they just let us be?  It's not fair. 
 
It's not fair that we should have to hide who we are and what we do.  We're here!  and we're meant to be heard!  I'm a female artist and I'm living in Bakersfield.  I want to display my artwork; I want to be proud of it.  I want to inspire other people to create and to be proactive ... not destructive.   I'm hoping that what's happened to my piece will help draw attention to that; I'm going to repair it and return it to the show, in time for the press preview on the 14th.  There are talented women here ... we should encourage and embrace our women artists in Bakersfield ... not attack them! 

The title of this show totally fits; that's what they're trying to do, here; they're trying to burn the witch"!

----------------------------------------------

Artist Jenn Williams ("Story Boxes")

"I am doing OK, despite the bad news.   

Mostly, I don't think it's really had a chance to sink in, yet.  I'm just thinking, 'really?'  This really happened?  Truthfully, right now I actually feel worse for the woman whose artwork was damaged and moved.  That's so amazingly hateful, and disrespectful.  My art is gone. Micky's art has been damaged.  We've been violated ... but we still have to go on, put on the show ... and that's traumatic.
 
It's weird ... I don't even see how my work could have been considered perverse, in any way.  My sculptures were what I call "story boxes."  They are boxes, with drawings or illustrations inside, and they have stories or poems to go with them.  These boxes were made as tombstones and coffins, to look like actual stone on the outside, and with the remains of the occupants inside ... accompanied by stories about who they were and how they died.  They were fun, and goofy, and perfect for Halloween.  They contained no social commentary or anything else that could even be considered inflammatory.  They were just for fun ... this makes no sense. 
 
To me, this is not a religious thing, at all.  It's a censorship thing.  The artwork was not religiously motivated, so how can the reaction to it be considered religiously motivated?  This isn't 'us vs. them;' ... this is artwork, on display ... and someone took it upon himself to trash it and make a jackass of himself in the process.  That is about the vandals themselves ... it has nothing to do with us, or our art.
 
It's unfortunate that some people are so juvenile and disrespectful that they can't just disagree with something and let it be ... they have to act like the very thing they claim they hate ... it turns them into monsters.
 
It was bad enough our show had to re-locate, twice!  But to have to deal with this on top of that ... I mean, these are 'bingo people' for God's sake!  These are people's grandparents and aunties ... they should know how to behave!  But I believe that you reap what you sow; and they're in for a world of hurt that they've brought upon themselves.
 
This makes me want to throw up my hands and say, 'Yeah; I'm moving out of Bakersfield.' And that isn't fair, because a lot of people have been working really hard, to change things here; but when stupid s**t like this keeps happening, why bother?  Why work so hard for these hypocrites?  That's what they are."

After the incident, the burning question remained - "Would Burn The Witch IV flame on"? The answer is a resounding, YES!

**At press time, organizers have vowed to continue the show as scheduled, and invite the community to experience one of the fastest growing annual shows in the city".

Bakotopia will be updating news as it develops...

"Burn The Witch IV" opens at Metro Special Events, 2801 F St.on October 17, from 3-7pm!

Related articles:

-BURN THE WITCH IV IS COMING!

-BURN THE WITCH III

-BURN THE WITCH II

LOOK OUR FOR THE OCTOBER 15 ISSUE OF BAKOTOPIA - FEATURING THIS YEAR'S BURN THE WITCH IV! COMING 10/13!

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