If it’s true that there’s no such thing as bad publicity, then Blackduck artist Deborah Davis just might see a spike in her career from this point on, at least when it comes to awareness of her work, because it’s obvious she’s got some spunk.
Davis was one of several artists commissioned by the City of Bemidji to paint various images or designs on a bunch of beaver sculptures, which would become part of the “sculpture walk” in that Minnesota gem of a city this summer. So Davis painted “Gaea,” which she said can mean “Mother Earth” or have a more spiritual, God-like meaning. On the fiberglass beaver, Davis painted a female figure, a tree, a flower and then, on the front, a big pink conversation starter.
The painting on the front of the beaver is on par with your typical Georgia O’Keeffe floral print that is often seen first as a flower and, second...something else. What Davis painted, as several complaints would attest, appears to depict the female genitalia. Others whose minds obviously work differently than the complainers say that they’re seeing a human-type form in the pink paint, with maybe some praying hands at the top. Davis says it’s Mother Earth rising from a sea of red roses.
Feeling the heat, the Bemidji city manager had Davis’ “Gaea” removed from the walk. The city council there was to discuss the issue tonight, but now a separate meeting has been scheduled to possibly find an amicable solution. Meanwhile, on Facebook, at Bemidji State and in the art community, support for Davis’ “Gaea” is on the rise. Many of the supporters don’t even care what people see in the pink paint; even if it’s the female genitalia, they say, what’s so terrible about that?
It’s easy to come down on one of the two obvious sides of this issue. There’s the whole artistic freedom viewpoint on one side, in that Davis needs to be given some creative license to come up with a piece of art that’s all her own for the individuals who see it to decide for themselves what they see in it. Muzzle her, these people say, and it’s censorship. Right on cue, other artists who painted other beaver sculptures veiled theirs as a show of solidarity when Davis’ “Gaea” was pulled from the sculpture walk. On the other side of the fence are the family-values folks who think the pink paint on “Gaea’s” abdominal region is just plain sexual and, therefore, offensive and inappropriate for public display.
Davis said she didn’t have genitalia or anything sexual in mind when she painted the fiberglass beaver given to her. Looking at “Gaea,” it’s just plain tough to decide what your mind deciphers first. You can see both perspectives.
So what will happen at tonight’s meeting? All bets are off. No matter the outcome, other than Davis herself, the Bemidji Convention and Visitors Bureau might be most upbeat of all, because if “Gaea” stays or even if “Gaea” goes, you can bet a lot more people will be visiting Bemidji to check out the “Sculpture Walk.”
