'Shoe Bush' creates worldwide media buzz and controversy for gallery owners

Art and Soul Gallery board members, from left, Dodie Hamilton, Charlotte Peterson, Judy Bjorlie; Ashland Gallery Association administrator Suzanne Heinrich; and board member Jerry Whitsett. The gallery received numerous protest e-mails from people who mistakenly believed it was another gallery in Ashland that allowed visitors to hurl shoes spattered with paint at a likeness of President Bush. Jim Craven | Daily Tidings

City Councilor Eric Navickas' gallery exhibit — where locals fired shoes at an image of President Bush — has generated a storm of media coverage and electrified Ashlanders this week.

By Navickas' estimations, even people living in Iraq know about the gallery installation he and his partner, Amy Godard, held Friday.

The exhibit was "statement of solidarity" for Muntadhar al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who hurled two shoes at the president last month and is now in prison, the couple said.

"Most importantly, we were happy with the press because it means that we've gotten the message out to the Iraqi people and Muntadhar al-Zaidi himself that we are sympathetic to his condition and that we stand in solidarity with al-Zaidi," Navickas said Tuesday.

The Daily Tidings story was picked up by The Associated Press and printed or displayed online by newspapers worldwide, as well as discussed on TV broadcasts such as Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor."

Readers' comments

Some locals were not pleased about the media coverage of the installation at MAda Shell Gallery — located above American Trails and behind Triple Six Tattoo in the Plaza — and many were upset that the "Shoe Bush" event took place in Ashland.

"It is truly, totally un-American, and these people in the gallery are acting like they would be in a third-world country, like this reporter (al-Zaidi) did," Ashland resident Barbara Field said Wednesday. "I think they're taking their freedom for granted."

Field said she was especially concerned that a city councilor was behind the installation.

"Here's somebody in our government that's representing our citizens in Ashland and it's a total embarrassment," she said. "I thought it was totally inappropriate to deface the presidency. It doesn't matter if you like him, you show respect."

The Daily Tidings also received comments from out-of-state readers, including a letter from Rita DeFino of Pittsfield, Mass.

"I was horrified, horrified when the article said that they had this life-sized image of Bush and they were flinging the shoes at the picture," she said in a phone conversation Wednesday. "I think sometimes we don't realize our children are watching, and then they go out and emulate what we do."

Conversely, many local and faraway readers praised Navickas and Godard for creating the "Shoe Bush" exhibit and said they planned to visit the gallery.

Margaret Chau of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, said she was glad newspapers in her area printed the news about MAda Shell Gallery's exhibit.

"I will be driving past Ashland next week, and would love nothing more than participating in the fun," she wrote in an e-mail message.

Navickas' response

Navickas said he had no regrets about the installation and that he hopes to do similar exhibits in the future. The gallery will officially open next month, he said.

"I separate my political life from my artistic life," he said, responding to complaints that he should not have engaged in the demonstration because of his position as an elected official.

Navickas also stands behind the message of the shoe throwing demonstration, which was his idea, he said.

"I personally see George Bush as a war criminal who should be tried and brought to justice for his murderous international policies. I hope to continue to present art with critical content," he said.

Threats

Navickas and Godard have received about a dozen threatening and obscenity-laced phone calls so far this week, Godard said Wednesday.

"People are calling and threatening us, saying that they wish that we were dead. In a way, I'm just really tired of this whole thing," she said.

The response to the exhibit has added a new layer of meaning to the gallery's name, which can be dissected into the words, "mad as hell." The name is also derived from the Dada art movement of the early 20th century, which Navickas and Godard draw on for inspiration, Godard said.

"People are mad as hell and people are calling what we're doing immature, but I think that the reactions are almost more immature," she said.

Business license

Critics have also brought up the point that the gallery does not yet have an Ashland business license. However, Godard said Wednesday that she has started the process of obtaining a license and that the gallery will have a license by the time it officially opens.

"We were doing this as more of an exposition," she said. "It was not really a profit thing, because we didn't really make any money. It cost about $100 to do the project and we had about $40 in the jar (where people could donate $1 to throw a shoe)."

Judy Taus, a city account clerk who handles the licensing data, confirmed Wednesday that the gallery did not have a license, but said if the gallery is operating as a nonprofit it would not need one.

Other Ashland galleries

All the media coverage also led to a mix-up involving the Ashland Art & Soul Gallery. An Associated Press headline read "Art and Sole," leading some readers to erroneously believe that the similarly named Ashland gallery was behind the exhibit.

Art & Soul Gallery owners have attempted to correct people who were confused about the issue, they said.

"We hope the ripples don't go too far," said Dodie Hamilton, a co-owner of the gallery.

Some Ashland Gallery Association members were also worried that readers might think they were somehow involved in the "Shoe Bush" exhibit, since the association manages the First Friday gatherings, which feature special art events.

But MAda Shell Gallery is not part of the association and simply chose to hold the event Friday, said Suzanne Heinrich, administrator for the association.

"We feel like this (the First Friday Artwalk) is our event, and when other galleries take part without being part of the Gallery Association, it's fine. But what we don't want is that activity to be attributed to the official First Friday," she said Wednesday.

Future of MAda

The widespread media coverage of the event did help put MAda Shell Gallery "on the map," Godard said.

"With this exhibit, we kind of started with a bang. We've made quite a good start for our gallery," she said.

Still, Godard and Navickas don't plan to hold controversial exhibits every month, Godard said.

"The next show is going be a lot more sublime. I don't really want to do this every month — maybe once a year," she said.

Staff writer Hannah Guzik can be reached at 482-3456 ext. 226 or hguzik@dailytidings.com.