G. Bud Swenson, a local artist who created the collages, said Monday he is pleased the exhibit is going forward and is eager to engage the public in two forums to discuss his work.
Library Director Janet Cate said the forum schedule will be announced soon. She declined to comment on the library’s decision to first cancel, and then reschedule, the showing of Swenson’s work.
“I think the right decision has been reached, and that’s the point,” she said.
A number of people e-mailed the library to protest the cancellation decision, after Swenson informed friends and colleagues about the issue.
The exhibit, entitled “Portraits in a Time of War,” includes two paintings and 20 collages made from worn American flags that Swenson cuts and tears into pieces and then glues to panels.
“I buy them at the flea market,” Swenson said. “I’ve been collecting flags for years, for $10 or $20 each. There’s a lot of color variation and fading.”
He said his first purpose in creating the collages was “to make good art and document the time we live in.” Swenson described the exhibit as political and said it was inescapable that we live in a time of war.
“We live with a war president, as he describes himself,” he said. “So I don’t think you can separate the war from these paintings.”
Swenson said he told the library about the flag collages some six weeks ago so it would be aware of the content of his work. He said that on Wednesday, the day before he was supposed to hang the exhibit, Cate told him the library had received a complaint and the show had to be cancelled.
Swenson said he does not know who made the complaint about the collages.
Swenson appealed to the library’s board of trustees, who met with him for two hours Thursday night in a session he described as “very positive.” He said the meeting was called by board President Kate Manahan. She could not be reached for comment Monday.
Swenson said Cate called him the day after the board meeting and told him the exhibit would go forward. Swenson hung the works on Monday and will attend a reception at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. The exhibit will be displayed until Nov. 29.
Several other artists, arts advocates and peace activists who were members of what Swenson called a “support group” emailed the library to complain about its action.
“I assume they had a big impact on the board,” he said.
In one of the e-mails, artist Abby Shahn of Solon asked: “If you cancel a show because a ‘patron’ objects, will you hang the show after all if another ‘patron’ objects to your cancellation? Or are some patrons more patronized than others? Would you have canceled Goya or Daumier?”
Another e-mail message, sent by Clare Doheny of Kennebunk, pointed out that the American Library Association takes a strong stand in favor of freedom of expression.
“Consider the responsibility of the public library in upholding intellectual freedom in a democracy,” she wrote. “Yet, the KFL Board has relinquished that responsibility. This abdication is a far greater threat to democracy than the use of the US flag in art collages!”
Swenson said the library has previously hosted two of his shows, including one about Kennebunk’s earliest history that includes material critical of how European settlers treated the area’s Indians.
He praised the library board for taking a “courageous stance” and allowing the flag exhibit to go forward.
Dieter Bradbury is the online reporter for pressherald.com, where this report initially appeared. Bradbury's beat is designed to engage directly with readers and glean story ideas from your suggestions, Web postings and feedback. If you have comments, please post them at pressherald.com or send Bradbury an email at: dbradbury@pressherald.com
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