California (Bay Area, Northern) Artist has work removed from Ritual Coffee Roasters, deemed too "Serious"

Does this woman possess a soul?
I expected to find grim b&w photos of a child's funeral, outdoors in the rain perhaps. These are "serious" pictures in that they are seriously composed. But they could even be called "nice" (is she intimidated by a table leg?). You wonder what Ms Hassi thinks is appropriate for a cafe-kittens, babies, flowers....The "I fired the curator" line is a classic.

Somebody call Glenn Close's or Meryl Streep's agent: "The Devil Wears Prada part II' is in development!
 
I have followed this thread with great interest, in part because I am in SF, and have a sense of Ritual, and in part because it has generated so many strong reactions with varying degrees of connection to the issue. And I've kept quiet ... but the replacement photos, juxtaposed with the letter from the owner, are worth noting.

Life is interesting, no?
 
agi said:
Want to see the "whimsical photos" that replaced it?

***warning*** NSFW

http://www.missionmission.org/2011/...rael-and-palestine-and-tits-and-bondage-nsfw/

Draw your own conclusions...
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I was going to say something about the owner having the right, but how it still wasn't all that cool of her, and how, even though she doesn't want to admit it, she lives in reality... then I saw your link...

(This is the obvious sarcasm part)
Umm... yeah. I'm so glad, as we all know, the debate on Israel and Palestine has been nothing but a bunch of laughs since the 1948 Mandate. You can't get more light and fluffy than the debate between ancient and modern land rights, or the thousands of dead Arabs and Jews the various wars have left to rot in the desert... But I am thoroughly offended by the use of poor, innocent boobies in that display of levity.
(Enough of that)

All I can really say is this: What the **** is wrong with these people? I know its her own little world, where she wants to play pseudo-intellectual with her fancy coffee shoppe/art gallery making "political statements," but this is bullcrap. I wouldn't even care about the money, I'd sue her on principle (or for the fun of it).
 
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The 'tits' photo looks like something you would have found in the 80s in Bob Guccione's magazine 'Penthouse'. It would have been the title page for an article on the middle east conflict. And I know you bought Penthouse for the articles. :p




/
 
Call me strange but the shot of the female body parts is actually more in line with what I'd expect to find in a branded coffee house ... not some sombre images of an empty apartment.

The image would give me a laugh and I might even feel inclined to hang around for another capucino and possibly a bite to eat ... instead of going back to my own apartment and wondering if maybe it is a bit gloomy! :p
 
Well, all I can say is that the coffee shop has done the photographer a favour. If they had let them sit there, they would never have received the attention that they are now getting.
 
wow still can't see these photos as not coffee house hangers

wow still can't see these photos as not coffee house hangers

I have to laugh here because it reminds me of pinning some photos on the community bulletin board of a coffee house a couple times a week when my daughter was at the gym in that neighborhood.

To kill time I would walk the neighborhood shooting what interested me and then make a cheap print to tack up the next time I was there.Sometimes the print would be gone,sometimes not and i would change it out for the new one.No words,name free art:)
 
Keith said:
Call me strange but the shot of the female body parts is actually more in line with what I'd expect to find in a branded coffee house ...
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If I am at Ritual now I would certainly order a double latte.
 
Well, I'm on the side of the coffee shop owner. I think it's great that she makes space available for artists/photographers to exhibit their work. On the other hand, I think the issue might have been handled a little better and that she may wish she'd had time to edit the letter. Some of the wording, for example. "Fluffy"? I don't think so.

However, the work itself is morbid and self-indulgent as revealed in the artist statement, and lacks artistic merit. It has little, if any, significance for people other than the photographer who has a personal attachment to some very mundane objects. If it were my coffee shop I'd have it off the wall too. Whoever agreed to put it up made a bad choice.

On that note, any coffee shop who has a hired "curator" must be the mother of all coffee shops! Most would have a manager at best. I am reminded of a State Government Utility (in Qld, sorry Keith) which I visited in my consulting practice and in the area where most of the senior management had their offices I came across one with the title of "Director of Janitorial Services". I just about exploded with mirth, only to be told that this person was quite senior and according to the status criteria for the organisation he was entitled to an executive office and the title. When I asked if he was the Head Cleaner they told me in all seriousness that his job entailed much more than that and that he also undertook minor plumbing and building repairs. That rather deflated me - I was hoping next to find an office marked "Director of Facilities Standards".
 
A thought occurred to me - rare but in happens occasionally:) Is any of this real or is it just a hype to get publicity for the coffee shop and/or the photographer?
 
Leigh Youdale said:
However, the work itself is morbid and self-indulgent as revealed in the artist statement, and lacks artistic merit. It has little, if any, significance for people other than the photographer who has a personal attachment to some very mundane objects. If it were my coffee shop I'd have it off the wall too. Whoever agreed to put it up made a bad choice.
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Morbid??? Are we equating morbid = not artistic merit? What is this, the 15th century? Artists not capable of being self-indulgent...well, all self-portraits should be removed from museums and coffee shops.

Anyway, firing off a faceless e-mail that something has been done without any discussion (shoot first, ask questions...well, what questions?), breaching an agreement -- that's not passive-aggressive (i.e. morbid) and has merit?
 
tlitody said:
Shop owner says they fired someone over this. That sounds pretty pathethic considering from the sound of it they hired them to make the choice. To then fire them saying the choice they made wasn't what was wanted sounds like the job definition was "You can choose anything so long as I like it otherwise I fire you". Doesn't say much for the coffee shop owner.
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My thoughts run along the same lines.

Also, I think that those not seeing what the issue is have either never had an exhibit, dealt with a space owner --and no, not all "coffee shops" are alike-- or even have been selected to have their work set up in a gallery. Many people don't understand the cost of framing, let alone printing, and many places (specially those with such a thing as a "curator" and commission rates) have guidelines. Once you have been accepted (you have to show it in order for that to happen) and have the agreement, it is not only unprofessional but insulting to have the work taken down right after the exhibit has been set up.

The owner was evidently personally offended at some level, and reacted in the same fashion. That is unprofessional.

I believe the photographer's warning is the right thing to do, so that going forward those who go to the same place can be prepared for similar behavior in the future.
 
robklurfield said:
What I just posted to Varese's FB page:

"Bummer. But, the way I see it, that letter now becomes part of the work. Run with it. You may be on to something here."
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And, THAT, Rob is the most constructive answer I could have imagined!:cool:

So, I emailed the coffee shop owner myself and relayed my opinion that the artist was treated badly. Also, I let the owner know that publicity around this controversy can be spun to benefit both artist and the coffee shop if done correctly. So, let's wait and see what happens.

Good luck!
 
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Why doesnt the artist print out the email from the owner and put it up around the shop on a few telephone poles, and leave a few inside the shop that way patrons can make up their own mind.
 
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