A Perfect Friend Censored at The Big Picture, Denver

Curated by photographer Mark Sink, The Big Picture, a Denver, Colorado city-wide art event (with sister cities throughout the world), brings together artists in a large format off and on-the-wall exhibition.  Works are displayed throughout Denver on city walls (using wheat paste) and in dedicated venues. But apparently some of the works went a bit too far – pornographically speaking.

My work, based upon a collage from the series A Perfect Friend, is currently installed at The Buffalo Exchange and is "censored" – the private bits have been covered with a blue patch.  To be honest, I'm not sure what to think about my work being censored. I suppose this is a far cry from Robert Mapplethorpe's ru- in with the censors at the Corcoran and the NEA. (See that history here).  What have we learned from censorship?  Mostly that it draws people's attention to the work and not away from it.  (Original piece is here):

Sink apparently censored the work himself!  Asked about the blue patch, curator Mark Sink, smiled and said nothing. (Mark Sink's website).

Then a day later this note from Mark Sink: "I need to explain... sorry you probably don't know iI was thrown off FaceBook twice, and one more time and I am out.  I run a big part of my life on FB –  sadly – (event announcements) The Big Picture and The Month of Photography and Sink Photography.  If they they shut me down a marketing arm would be cut off."  

Well, hmm.  Several observers have noted that the blue patch actually draws attention to the works' slight pornographic nature. 

See more from The Big Picture here.

The work was also printed in black and white and wheat pasted on walls in Denver during the Month of Photography.  Here, the work is one of many pieces in The Big Picture.  The piece was "censored" because it appeared on FaceBook.  As far as I know the actual work on the wall remains uncensored.

A single print of this work and others from the series A Perfect Friend are available from Converge Gallery, Williamsport, Pennsylvania. These prints were featured at the exhibition After The Flood in 2012 in Williamsport. There are only a few prints remaining; the edition was set at three but only one print was made of each of 36 images. Contact the gallery if you're interested: Converge.

The prints were produced by Gary Day at the University of Omaha, Nebraska fine arts printing lab.  The prints are about 80 x 60 cm each and were made using a high end Epson digital printer on fine Arches paper.  Each of the prints are signed, numbered (1/3) and dated 2003.

MADNESS: My work will be featured at The Madness of Collage at The Next Gallery also in Denver, opening 8 March.  My works on paper in the Madness exhibition are viewable here.