THE CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL ART
CCPArt TO HOST TAP2019 CONFERENCE June 23RD IS ARTISTIC FREEDOM AT RISK IN THE AGE OF TRUMP? Julian Raven, Tim Atseff and Jim Boden, the three artists whose portraits of the President are now on view in The Center for Contemporary Political Art’s current exhibition, The Good, the Bad & the Ugly! Portraits of Our (Unindicted) Leader, will take part in a day-long series of public discussions and debates about their work and the political climate which informs it, next Sunday, June 23rd from noon to 6 p.m. A wine and chips reception will follow. “It’s my hope that if enough common ground can be found among the artists, maybe we’ll learn something that will help reduce polarization elsewhere in the country. If the artists can reach agreement, we hope a statement will be issued at the end of the conference calling on the President to respect artistic freedom in the United States, while also stating explicitly what the artists would consider violations of it,” said Charles Krause, the former journalist who founded CCPArt last year. “It’s been my observation that artists and intellectuals are often the first to be targeted when democracies slide toward autocratic rule,” Krause said. “Sadly, I think the time has come to explore the ‘what-ifs’ of our increasingly dysfunctional political institutions and system. Can civil society, beginning with Julian, Tim and Jim, agree on lines that must not be crossed?” What should make the discussion both unusual and interesting is that Raven is a born-again Christian supporter of the President who painted his massive portrait, titled Unafraid and Unashamed, in 2015, shortly after Trump announced his candidacy; and he remains a strong
supporter. Raven is currently suing the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, arguing that its refusal to exhibit Unafraid and Unashamed is due to institutional anti-Trump bias, and therefore a violation of the artist’s First Amendment rights. {Raven will talk about his claims against the Portrait Gallery at noon on Monday, the 24th] Tim Atseff, a former managing editor of the Syracuse, NY Post-Standard newspaper, began his career at the paper as its cartoonist. His series of seven oil paintings, titled Seven Deadly Sins: Trump’s Dystopian Hepatology, is unsparing in its portrayal of the President’s personality and character. Jim Boden is a professor emeritus of fine art at Colker College in South Carolina; he is represented in the CCPArt exhibit by 48 smaller works, mostly collages on watercolor from his Out of Paradise series; the collages masterfully portray Trump as the ruler of a corrupt, racist, elitist and lawless netherworld with enough visual cues to suggest Trump’s world is the United States.
THE ART OF POLITICS2019 conference is open to the public, especially artists who may want join in the facilitated dialogue that will discuss the substance and need for a statement regarding artistic freedom. All of the events listed below will take place at CCPArt, 916 G Street, Washington DC 20001. (M: Metrocenter and Gallery Place) SUNDAY, JUNE 23 NOON to 12:45: Tim Atseff will give an artist’s talk about his seven portraits of the president with half an hour reserved for discussion and questions. 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. Jim Boden will give an artist’s talk about his collages and oil portraits with half an hour reserved for discussion and questions. 2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.: Julian Raven will give an artist’s talk about Unafraid and Unashamed with half an hour reserved for discussion and questions. 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. FACILITATED DIALOGUE: IS ARTISTIC FREEDOM AT RISK IN THE AGE OF TRUMP? Participants: Julian Raven, Tim Atseff and Jim Boden with comments from members of the audience FACILITATOR: Ashok Panikkar holds university degrees in design and conflict resolution techniques; he will facilitate our search for common ground discussion MONDAY, June 24 NOON to 1 p.m. Julian Raven will discuss his lawsuit against the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery; NPG will be invited to send a representative to explain its reasons for not considering the painting in question for display
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE GO TO: www.politicsartus.org or text CHARLES KRAUSE 202-412-2324 or email charles@oliticsartus.org THE CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL ART is a 501-( c)- (3) nonprofit corporation located @ 916 G Street NW / DC 20001