Photo shot down from display

Author: Melissa Marshall

Students leaving the McCullough Social Space after a late-night dance party or prospectives taking a tour of the Student Center may be shocked to find themselves staring down the barrel of a gun. Aaron Gensler's '08 exhibit featuring eight photographs of students posing with a toy gun is the current display in The Center Gallery for Student Art - and the center of a controversy over the content of public art on campus.

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In the wake of complaints from members of the custodial staff and counseling services, a photograph depicting student Michael Nevadomski '09 with a gun placed provocatively in his mouth was removed and replaced with a less visually graphic piece.

"I knew that they were going to illicit some conversation. I will say that I underestimated how public that gallery is," said Graduate Intern at the Museum of Art Stuart Hurt '07.5, who is also in charge of curating The Center Gallery - a space that opened in May 2007 to provide student artists a place to showcase their work.

According to Hurt, the gallery's "greatest strength is also its greatest weakness, and that's its public nature."

With its informal air and the openness of the space, The Center Gallery and its central location in the Social Space promotes visibility. The subject matter of Gensler's photographs, however, caught visitors off guard - visitors to the college who were not necessarily expecting to experience art.



"The Center Gallery is a place where people have to do their jobs, where parents walk through with young children, where the local community passes through on a regular basis," wrote Chaplain of the College Laurie Jordan, who originally fielded concerns about the exhibit from members of the custodial staff and counselors at the Health Center, in an e-mail. "It is wonderful to fill it with art," she continued, "but I believe there is room for discussion about finding the right sort of art for public thoroughfares."



A plaque explaining the concept behind Gensler's "10 Seconds With A Toy Gun" was also mounted about a week after the installation of the exhibit - leaving a considerable amount of time during which the images hung without explanation.



"I think the content of the photographs is right on the line between what's appropriate for a public space and what isn't. I saw the photographs myself and I was somewhat surprised," said Chief Curator of the College Museum of Art Emmie Donadio. "I subsequently found out the intent of the artist, and it's unfortunate that there was no statement there so the unwary visitor had no idea what the reference were, what was in the artist's mind."



A reaction to the Virginia Tech shootings, Gensler's exhibit examines not only her response to the tragedy, but the response of other students, the public and the media. Consisting of 33 photographs in its entirety (in reference to the 33 victims of last April's shootings), Gensler's collection not only asks her subjects for their reaction to the feel of a gun, but also forces the viewer to examine their initial feelings when confronted with such images.



"I never wanted to offend anyone with my art, but if someone is offended by it, I think they should look at why they have that reaction," Gensler said. "I want to make people think."



Originally designed for as a school assignment last spring, the photographs made their first public appearance on campus lining the walkway up to Mead Chapel. In that instance, Public Safety approached Gensler with complaints and she decided to remove them.



Once again, her conceptual art project is generating discussion on campus.



Initial discussion of removing the exhibit as a whole was, Hurt said, "a knee-jerk reaction."



"I think we came to a good compromise," Hurt said, explaining that the removal of the photograph deemed most problematic satisfied the concerns raised by staff at the College without compromising the integrity of the exhibit - and exhibit that, even in the light of more recent campus violence at Northern Illinois University, Hurt believes provokes necessary discussion.



"The fact that we have incidents like this shows we need to reexamine the American relationship to guns," he said."



This sense of conversation was at the heart of the exhibit's intent.



"As I understand it, the present exhibition was originally intended to be less provocative than to promote a dialogue about the complex and ambivalent relationship American society has with guns," said Director of the College Museum Richard Saunders.

Saunders still expressed concern over the placement of the exhibit. "As to whether these works are too controversial for such a central campus location, I think that Center Gallery installations have to walk a fine line between being relevant to the college community while recognizing that there is a responsibility that goes with placing student work on view in such a central location."



In favor of both controversy and conversation "10 Seconds With A Toy Gun," raises important questions about the sensitive nature of public art as well as the power of art to engross, enlighten and offend. According to Hurt, plans are being considered for a gallery talk to discuss Gensler's photographs, which will remain up until mid-April, and the ensuing controversy on campus.



"I think it's important that we are talking about this. I don't want to tell people what to think, but I think it's important that they're thinking," said Gensler. "And if this is something that the gallery is promoting, then that's great. I don't want to instigate other people feeling badly. I just want to push people."



Additionally reporting by Editor-in-Chief Kathryn Flagg.