letter to the NCAC January 29, 2010

January 29, 2010

I am writing to you as an artist and as the coordinator for the Cultural Heritage Artists Project of the Orchard Street Shul, concerning our recent experience of alleged censorship lodged publicly against us by the NCAC, resulting from our decision not to accept a work submitted by Richard Kamler. Charges of censorship are a serious matter, and one assumes that the NCAC, as a coalition of professional and civic organizations, does not make decisions casually and without due process. As a strong supporter of free speech, however, I am unable to reconcile my experience with the NCAC and the judgments against our artists’ collective with what I would like to believe is the usual practice of any body charged with public trust.

We are all, presumably, thoughtful people of conscience, so when decisions regarding the proper ethical course in any given situation are so radically different, this is usually an indication of a complex situation, perhaps even one which poses unexpected and novel questions. This particular case involved difficult conceptual issues that our Artistic Committee grappled with through several meetings and many hours of discussion. Our process of deliberation brought us to new insights, and we were (and remain) prepared to discuss the novel problems posed by new forms of Community Art and Cultural Heritage projects, in which artists create work out of a process involving more than just a singular personal vision.

Ultimately, we reluctantly concluded that Mr. Kamler’s multifaceted installation/performance work fell outside of the guidelines for our project, and our rejection of the work triggered the NCAC to raise the accusation of censorship. On learning of the pending announcement of the NCAC, and prior to the release of your statement, I initiated contact with the NCAC because I understood that one of the functions of the NCAC was to attempt resolution in cases of misunderstandings. I spoke personally with Svetlana Mintcheva, the program officer.

At the time I believed that she and I were having a conceptual and logistical discussion, focused on the inherent contradictions of Mr. Kamler’s proposed installation/performance, consisting of a new work developed specifically to engage the members of the particular community which was the object and subject of our exhibition and project.

Community Art and Cultural Heritage projects do present new challenges. To fully comprehend such conceptual challenges in any given situation, however, one must first begin with basic fact-checking: the call for participation, the guidelines for the project, the dates of review, the nature of the organization, etc. And then, most certainly, the next step is verification of the actual facts, charges and statements in a complaint of censorship.

I was therefore stunned to read the statements in the NCAC press release and blog presenting not only a simplified version of the case surrounding Richard Kamler’s work, with no mention of the inherent contradictions, but a litany of “facts” so inaccurate that none of us involved with assessing Mr. Kamler’s proposal recognized any such statements.

We were most disturbed by the unattributed quotations in the NCAC statements that Mr. Kamler’s work was not accepted because it “might offend somebody” or that the decision was made out of “fear some members of the community may be offended.” Although we recognized that Mr. Kamler’s work might have elements of controversy, no member of our Artistic Committee ever made such general statements concerning lack of respect or offense without a direct link, in the very same sentence, to the community which was the object and subject of our Cultural Heritage Artists Project.

Because there is no attribution and we have no proof of where they might have originated, we must challenge these statements and the NCAC assertion that they reflect our position. They do not, and we do not believe these statements were made by anyone involved with our decision-making. Consequently we raise the entire question of with whom the NCAC spoke to get its “facts” about this disagreement.

It is for this reason that on December 30, 2009 I asked for a copy of the complaint against the Cultural Heritage Artists Project. This was motivated not only by the disputed statements of the NCAC, but by posted comments on the internet containing inaccurate “facts” and perceptions about the project, the organization, and oddly, my own professional accomplishments. I was quite surprised by Ms. Mintcheva’s January 7 reply to my inquiry. Apparently the NCAC can make public accusations of censorship against organizations, but is not obligated to inform the accused of where the complaint originated, or its content. Such secrecy seems to belie the very principles of a free speech organization.

I also found it disturbing that the NCAC, after assuring me that its statement to the press would be released on November 30, changed the date, without notice to me, to ten days earlier, so as to coincide with a release by the artist Richard Kamler. The artist certainly has a right to communicate his position to the press, but the NCAC, by linking its statement to his, gave credibility to additional misperceptions of the situation.

Honest misunderstandings may have formed the basis for what amounts to misrepresentation, but this is precisely why in our free society we cherish the right of open discourse, including the rights of defendants to be given the opportunity to refute supposed facts that inform decisions.

What is perhaps most disturbing is the NCAC’s apparent lack of interest in a process that would insure fact- checking and fact-correction in matters of dispute. It is my hope that this current exchange might lead the NCAC to collaborate with its professional affiliates to develop a policy for due process, as a policy that would be made available to the public. Consistent due process would not only lead to fairer assessments, but would also encourage dialogue around the unusual conceptual challenges posed by situations that are layered in their complexity. This would be a positive step towards enabling us to work together to protect the free exchange of ideas in our ever-changing cultural landscape.

Sincerely,
Cynthia Beth Rubin
Artist and Coordinator
The Cultural Heritage Artists Project of the Orchard Street Shul

The reply to this letter finally came after 6 weeks, after numerous calls to the NCAC requesting a reply.  That letter did not answer the question of due process or how the NCAC gets its "facts"

Who we are, Why we posting

The Cultural Heritage Artists Project is a group of artists who first came together in the summer of 2008, in response to a call to create an art exhibition in partnership with a state-designated historic site in New Haven, Connecticut.  As artists committed to working together collectively to develop new models of artist - community projects, the small group of us who met quickly decided that rather than produce an ordinary exhibition, we would move into largely uncharted territory by working together to create new works in response to the environment, history, or architecture of this site.  We wanted to tell its story, and to encourage others to experience the magical transformation of information through aesthetic interpretation that makes art compelling and relevant in our world today.

That our community partner was a historic Shul, still operating under by-laws which designated it a traditionally Orthodox Synagogue, was a piece of the project that posed interesting conceptual challenges that were unanticipated by those of us who were quite simply intrigued and inspired by a historic building that so clearly bore echoes of the "coming to America" immigration waves of the early 20th century.  There was history in those walls, history in the worn down steps, and history in the nearly abandoned sanctuary that had once been a vibrant center of community life. 

We were, for the most part, tourists in this site.  We came to it not as members of the Orchard Street Shul, and we came to it from mixed religious and ethnic backgrounds.  As our group grew, we came to include children and grandchildren of those who had grown up in the area attending Italian Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox Churches, as well one artist who is descended from the Shul founders and still an active member.  And of course most of us came from elsewhere, from other cities, other countries, other religious backgrounds or no religious backgrounds or religious orientations that changed over the years.  

Committed open-minded community orientated artists that we were, we decided to issue an Open Call to include other artists who were interested in this site.  Our call was simple, but we did realize that while history and community in the most general sense may have brought us into this project, we were in fact dealing with a historic site that belonged to others, and knew that we needed to respect this community.  

And then we plunged ahead.  We forged a relationship with an initially bewildered Jewish Historical Society, who were unaware of artists-as-researchers.  We scanned, photographed, interviewed, and filmed.  Our numbers grew as artists continued to apply, hearing from others about the wonderful project, the wonderful opportunity to make work for a purposeful exhibition.  We were going to turn the art world inside out.  We were not waiting for a curator to come to our studio and find that we had caught the wave that was the next big thing, we were going to make the next big thing and make the wave with it!  We were joined by scholars who came to write about the history, to put the art and the building in context.  We joined by computer science researchers who were going to push the art of 3D digital imaging forward by making a digital record of our site.  

We were joined by so many that the project began to be too much for our total volunteer force, but we kept going, asking every artist to help.  We found a new way to keep  track of artist's works in progress and to encourage community across distances by creating a google website that required a password for participation.  We asked any artist who could to join a committee, contribute advice, contribute services from graphic design to writing texts to picking people up at the train station.

And we pulled it off!  For the 500 people who lined up on a cold December day to storm the doors of one of the largest and most diverse exhibitions that had ever been created on a shoe-string from pure inspiration, this show and book were a fabulous success.

Read the Call for Participation below, and stay tuned for the next phase - the part where one artist misunderstood all of the above, and managed to so convince others that his misunderstanding was the whole story that we can only correct the perceptions through the blogs!

Artists working in all media are invited to participate in a Cultural Heritage Project based in New Haven, Connecticut.

The Orchard Street Shul Artists Project offers artists an opportunity to engage with a historic synagogue that is largely as it was when it was opened in 1927. This is a rare opportunity for artists to visit the site before renovation takes place -- with the marks of history still clearly evident.  The project is not a simple exhibition of existing work; you must make new work responding to the environment, history, or architecture of the Orchard Street Shul. All media will be considered, and you may determine the format of your participation as the project progresses.  In keeping with the intention of celebrating heritage and cultural diversity, we ask that all work produced for this project maintain respect for the synagogue as the spiritual home of an ongoing segment of New Haven's Jewish Community, and as the legacy of past generations.  Artists will be expected to visit the site at least once prior to producing work.

Artists will have access to ground-breaking 3D scans of the Shul, as researchers at Yale University will be working on the project to produce a virtual replica of the site. Engaging with the 3D data offers artists the opportunity to be at the forefront of research in 3D imaging. Artists working in non-digital media may visit the Orchard Street Shul for on-site sessions of drawing, painting, etc. Artists may also arrange for access to historical photographs in the collection of the Jewish Historical Society.

Artists may apply to be part of the exhibition by sending an email expressing interest. . . . Please include a link to a web site or blog with examples of previous work, and a c.v. In your email, tell us why this project interests you. There is no formal application form. After acceptance, you will have several months to complete your contribution to the project. 

For more information visit:
(original website address given here - since changed... will reconstitute and post soon!)

The project is coordinated by Cynthia Beth Rubin, a New Haven based new media artist, working with a team of artists and community members.