A Note From The Director

On Friday, March 16^th, some of you brought your children to The Brogan Museum to enjoy our first day of spring camp. The fact that members of this community entrust us with their children is of paramount importance.

Members of the “Capital Press Corp.” came on that same day to report on one organization’s desire to remove one artist’s work from The Brogan’s galleries. During the nine years I have been at The Brogan Museum, none of the hundreds of artists who have been featured (including Monet and Picasso) have ever focused the eyes of the community (indeed the world) on The Brogan as has John Sims.

I am certain that our nation’s first amendment rights give artists the privilege to express themselves, in all manners. Art has served as a cultural reflection of the times, for all times. What does the reaction to the work of John Sims say about our community? Are we intolerant of other’s views or will we embrace the opportunity to share our perspectives?

I wonder how my role as a “catalyst” for the Knight Ridder Creative Community Initiative can best be served as a result of these experiences. It is the intent of both The Brogan and the KCCI effort to lay a positive foundation for our community’s future. That effort will thrive with dialogue among people of different perspectives.

Please see the exhibition AfroProvocations and talk to your friends about it. Talk to your children about it. Talk to me about it. When we talk, we will discover what we have in common. Like it or not, we have much in common and it is that commonality that is humanity.

As of this moment, there have been thousands of e-mails and phone calls to The Brogan Museum about the exhibit. An AOL survey has received more than 247,000 responses. Clearly, people do want to talk about this. To create further opportunities for that dialogue we offer the following:

Starting today (Tuesday, March 20^th) - The Brogan will launch a new Blog on its website. The Brogan’s website is www.thebrogan.org and you will then click on “The John Sims Exhibit Controversy” link.

I can’t help but wonder if members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans would be surprised if I shared with them a photo of an ancestor in a Confederate uniform? My point is no art, not even the work of John Sims is an insult to anyone. It’s not about you or your ancestors. It’s certainly not about me. John Sims’ art, is about the artist’s perspective. If his art stirred you, created emotion within you, it did exactly what art is meant to do.

Chucha Barber
Executive Director
The Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science
350 South Duval Street
Tallahassee, FL 32309
850-513-0700