As producer of the local Rocky Horror Picture Show for over 15 years, Jim Hetzer knows "campy".
But he isn't thrilled about the prospect of the "Father of Our Country" appearing four stories high, in drag.
Work began recently on the project at in Camp Washington, behind Camp Washington Chili.
"Campy Washington", designed by artist Scott Donaldson, is a pop art depiction George Washington in colonial drag, next to a cow's head and a halo of flying pigs - perhaps a nod to the neighborhood's days as a meat processing center.
Recently, a robot representing Jacobs Manufacturing and a Gorilla representing Schenz Theatrical Supply, Inc. have been added to the mural's final design.
"I was assured that Mural Works worked with many community leaders from the Camp Washington Community Board, residents, members of the Camp Washington Community Council, and the Camp Washington Business Association, and they said that many business owners and residents felt that this design would be very positive for the neighborhood," Hetzer says.
Hetzer says he's glad that the President visited in 2006, and not this year.
"I feel that he would be appalled to see such an inappropriate and historically inaccurate image as I am," he says. "It's an incredible embarrassment. Can you image giving someone directions by saying something like, 'As you go up Colerain Avenue you'll see a 4 story picture of George Washington in a dress. Keep going straight for a few blocks and turn right'."
He also believes that the mural is disrepectful to all of the people who have worked to build and maintain the neighborhood, as well as the current residents.
"It's hard to imagine what those pioneers who built the actual 'Camp Washington' would say if they saw it or General T.L. Young who owned most of this land after the actual military camp was torn down," Hetzer says. "What of the looks on the faces of the visitors who came to the first Ohio State Fair in 1850, which was held in Camp Washington, what would they have said? Imagine all the men and women who worked so hard in 1939 to clean up from the great flood which ravaged the streets of Camp Washington, carrying thousands of shovels of mud to dig out their homes, slaving to rebuild this community with that image looking down over their shoulder."
Hetzer stresses that it has nothing to do with seeing people in drag, something he has worked to promote.
"This is just embarrassing to the community and to the city at large," he says.
Eight ArtWorks apprentices will work alongside Donaldson and his teaching aide Kate Holterhoff to complete the project, which should be finished by the end of the month.
MuralWorks is a program that pairs professional and teenage artists with community members to create transformative works of public art on blank walls throughout the City of Cincinnati's neighborhoods.
Other mural locations scheduled for this year include Carthage, Columbia Tusculum, Downtown, East Walnut Hills, Over-the-Rhine, Queensgate and Spring Grove Village.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Not everyone loves 'Campy Washington'
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52 comments:
It's no surprise after the chemo patient mural that Artworks did in Pleasant Ridge on the side of Mullaney's Pharmacy. No doubt accidents have been caused as gawkers try to figure out if the glowing 10 foot head represents an alien, until the actual depiction dawns on them.
Dear Mr. Mallory,
I am writing you concerning the mural going in at 3025 Colerain Ave of President George Washington in a dress and make up. Please know that I was raised VERY liberally in San Francisco. I do however strongly feel that this sort of thing sends a message (especially to to the local children) that perpetuates our epidemic levels of a lack of respect for anything or anyone.
Of course there is the argument that the painting itself is an expression of our freedoms. I ask however, at what cost do we need to remind everyone of freedom of expression? I am as well an artist. Censorship has always been a sore spot with me. This however is a public work, not a work of art in a gallery for discretionary viewing. This is insult to one of the most important men in American history. Viewed in a hip, on the edge gallery....sure. Painted 5 stories tall on a building for all to view, I'm ashamed.
Again, I am an open minded west coast artist. However, if this is the case :
> The mural is part of a project called MuralWorks. A program funded by the
> City of Cincinnati, Proctor and Gamble, Leadership Cincinnati, and UBS. The
> murals are intended to become “powerful agents of neighborhood transformation,
> civic pride, and identity” according to MuralWorks.
I ask you, How is degrading a historical giant a sense of "civic pride"?
Sincerely,
James Downs
I agree as well. What do you say to a young child who's full of questions when he asks, "Daddy, who's that painted on that building." Should we reply, "Well son, that there is the first President of our country, the man who led our army to victory during the Revolutionary War. And to remember him as the courageous man that he was, we've decided to put him in a pink dress and douse him in make-up"??
Something should be done about this? What can we do? Who can we call?
Whiners!
It's ART - it takes you out of your normal box to really make you think, oh, yeah, this place is named after Washington, our first President. If Washington were depicted the way he always is, then would we be having this argument? Would we even look at the mural twice?
I love it - thanks for thinking outside the box.
cant wait till its finished spray paint is gonna fix it right up
It's not art, it's trash. If it depicted Washington in regular clothes, would we have this argument, not at all. What's it saying about our founding father? He's a drag queen that loves cows, robots and Schenz? Where is the "art"? It's a disgrace.
Tell me how this makes you "think outside the box"...
Love it.
First, how do we know that Washington didn't like to dance around occasionally in Martha's dresses?
And yes, this does make me think twice about what is going on in this artwork. If it showed Washington crossing the Delaware, I probably wouldn't even look at it. But with this unconventional portrait, it immediately challenges, makes you realize that the artist/community has a statement to make, and in this case, they are celebrating Camp Washington's fun side (aside from all you losers that don't get it).
Go George!
I don't like it and I think that it is disrespectful. Also, I don't think it is all that thought provoking.
But I think trying to censor it just because you don't like it is far more disrespectful to the people who have fought for our freedoms.
There are far worse things going on. Move on.
Well, personally I think that it's disrespectful. As a college student, lover of history (and George) I feel that the mural would cause alot more raised eyebrows than anything- sure, people will find it either funny, downright disturbing, or really couldn't give a care about either. But that doesn't mean that we should depict George in a dress. I for one, am still amazed by the regular paintings and mosaics of our forefathers and others at The Union Terminal- and other places- I think just a regular painting would suffice. It's not every day when you see a huge painting- of anything- on the side of a building. A big sign for a furniture store still gets my attention. Why do they have to go out of their way to create something that might be a bit controversial?
They could always call the mural "Camp-vestite".
Welcome to Camp Washington, Ohio - Cross Dressing Capital of the United States.
Here's hoping someone tags it repeatedly once it's complete.
I am an Artworks employee, on of the 9 teenage apprentices working on this particular mural under the wing of Scott Donaldson. I can understand your concerns (and ask you please don't vandalize my work,please) and you must understand it isn't meant to be a disrespectful image. It is all just a ridiculously misunderstood pun. a play on words, that's all. Take a moment and look up what 'campy' means.
adjective
providing sophisticated amusement by virtue of having artificially (and vulgarly) mannered or banal or sentimental qualities; "they played up the silliness of their roles for camp effect"; "campy Hollywood musicals of the 1940's" [syn: camp]
As you can see, it is all just a rather stupid pun on 'camp Washington'. I found it a little disconcerting at first as well, but it is harmless, really.
Just like when a friend is considering getting a face tattoo, maybe people should try to talk them out of it before it's too late.
Essentially, It's a poor part of town that is getting a bad tattoo, that they won't be able to get rid of it. That painting will last longer then most of the residents will live there.
It's sad.
All of Cincinnati will suffer for this one. Hopefully, people will see the light of day.
Wow, if that's what he is doing for Camp Washington. I wonder what he's going to do for "Mount" Washington.
- Gibbon
Make your feelings known to City Council.
Vice Mayor David Crowley 352-2453
Council members
Jeff Berding 352-3283
John Cranley 352-5303
Chris Monzel 352-3653
Cecil Thomas 352-3499
Laketa Cole 352-1979
Chris Bortz 352-3255
Leslie Ghiz 352-3344
Roxanne Qualls 352-3604
You can also e-mail them
It is disgusting. If this is considered appropriate by city council then we need new council members! Everyone of you should be
FIRED if you were stupid enough to think the people would
apreciate this kind of mural.
Maybe we should have this company paint a mural at 801 Plum Street of city council in drag.
I'm not sure who most of these commenters are, as many are anonymous, but I'm SHOCKED at all these negative comments, especially coming from readers of this blog.
I guess I had a different idea of the readers here.
Also noticeably, the regular commentators here have not responded...are many of you offended by this work?
At the young artist's request, I did look up the word "campy". The on-line free dictionary defines the adjective as "having deliberately artificial, vulgar, banal or affectedly humorous qualityies or style". I think the painting is vulgar, and though it may be intended to be humorous - some jokes are just not meant for everyone in society.
I certainly believe in freedom of expression, nor would I condone censorship of an artist's freedom. But we need to be respectful of a heroic man that actually lived; and we need to be respectful of the people who work and live in this community and are required to look at this gigantic work whether they find it offensive or not. Would you want it in your backyard? Do something else with the money city of Cincinnati. Surely there are better uses.
Do any of you who hate this mural live in Camp Washington? If so, did ANY of you attend any of the community meetings to talk about the direction of the mural before the paint went up? My guess is no.
Why don't you try and get involved in your community instead of bashing the people who are behind trying to improve it. I may not like the mural, I dont HATE it, I do appreciate it. But i also don't live there and was not involved in it. Maybe we should all shut up and let the organizers and community members speak about it.
I am also one of the nine apprentices working on the mural, and am saddened to see all of the negative comments coming from all of these people.
I would like to remind you all that this mural design was chosen from a group of 3 or 4 other designs by a group of community members, and that we went into this project anticipating some controversy.
If all you can see is an insult, then I am truly sorry for you. There is an amazing amount of talent and teamwork going into this mural, and there are people who fully support our work and are able to appreciate the humor behind it. I assure you that this was in no way meant to be insulting to George Washington or anyone else.
I understand completely if you find this mural outlandish, but I hope that you would at least appreciate the fact that it provided 9 teenagers with a chance to utilize their artistic abilities for the summer.
anon 11:11am, you beat me to it. I thought I was the only one in PR who thought that "art work" was weird, at best. I seriously hope they come along in a year or two and paint something else.
anon 2:37pm, get a grip. Just because we don't like it, and hope it goes away, doesn't mean it's censorship. Once someone passes a law against it, then I'll come around to your way of thinking.
Keep in mind that this "hero" was a slave-holding professional killer and turncoat.
Benjamin Franklin would think it's funny.
All of these responses prove that the artists did in fact create something original and thought-provoking, and, I'll say it, beautiful.
One poster asked: "at what cost do we need to remind everyone of freedom of expression?" Well, these days, we need as much reminding as we can get. For the past 7 years, we've been sacrificing our personal freedoms in the name of patriotism and national security. I, for one, am proud to live in a country that allows its citizens to satirize their leaders, and does not imprison them (or worse) for expressing something new, interesting, and in this case, beautiful--a point that few people have seemed to appreciate, beyong the frilly dress.
Get past the hoopla and the hype, people. Oscar Wilde said it best, "the only thing worse than people talking about you, is people not talking about you."
Campy Washington is a fun way to get people to notice the place.
OK, anon 7/19 3:47, I'll take the bait. What personal freedoms have been sacrificed over the past 7 years? Can you not say what you want, read any book or newspaper, get together with others, write good/bad things about the government, buy a gun? Anyone keep you from voting? Where can you not go in this country?
If you think you've lost some personal freedoms, go talk to people in China, Cuba, maybe talk to some women in the Middle East, or just about anyone in Africa. Now THEY could tell you about the lack of personal freedoms. But in this country? Get a grip.
Sorry Kevin, I know this isn't what you have this blog for. Thanks for the chance to rant.
Maybe if Washington wasn't so danged serious in the work. Lighten up George. He doesn't look campy he just looks pissed.
And I can easily see why he would be...
this is great! love it!!
You need not be a resident to be offended by this. I am a resident of Cincinnati. It offends on that scale.
This is not an improvement, and it doesn't follow the guidlines of what Muralworks said the art was supposed to.
- G
A poor part of town is getting a tattoo they can't remove for 25 years.
I hear in Mount Washington he will be having gay sex in the painting.
It's great to see the interest of folks in the new Campy Washington mural in Camp Washington. It will be the most unique, provocative, and fun mural in the Mural Works program.
The review committee (and building owner)looked at several concepts (including a waitress with a platter of cheese coneys) and felt that the Camp Washington concept was the best.
We hope to to call attention to the renassaince of Camp Washington, a neighborhood that has suffered from both industrial withdrawl(i.e., Sara Lee Kahn's, Mutual Manufacturing, Powell Valve) and, housing foreclosures/property flipping. The community board development corporation since 1975 has been working hard to reverse these trends. The business association has nearly 80 members and is leading the efforts to redevelop and invest in the industrial infrastructure, help guide the proposed I-75 changes,and attract new businesses like the American Sign Museum, which is opening in Camp Washington next Fall. The community council has led the $20,000 restoration of the Doughboy Statue and flag pole in Valley Park. A new sign, over a dozen new trees and landscaping have been installed in the park.
We are also sponsoring the second annual Camp Washington Bluegrass and Art Fest, September 13 in Valley Park.
We hope the mural will further call attention to the Camp as a safe place to live and work. The mural has already spurred some conversation about George Washington, the quiet, heroic father of our country. If the mural encourages folks to read about and study the history of the first president, that will further make this piece of art a success. You can always refer to "George Washington Crossing the Delaware" by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze for a traditional look at George.
Joe Gorman
Community Organizer
Camp Washington Community Board
Thanks for taking the time to give your prespective, Joe. I think it's important for people to realize that the mural is the result of a community process, and not just something that's been thrust upon Camp Washington by some outside force.
Listen everyone,
I myself am one of the teen apprentices that worked on this particular mural for ArtWorks. Our team is a wonderful group of kids with bursting personalities. In six weeks we were able to wander the neigborhood and meet the members of this great community, gain feedback from all of them, put THEIR ideas and suggestions into this mural design, and presented that design to the community in the form of a four story mural.
Now I know some of you think that this is an outrageous idea for a mural, and fact is, that's the point! It's just the thing the community of Camp Washington needs. It brightens the days of so many people that live there. We have many of them come by telling us that they love the design and that we're doing a great job. That makes us feel good knowing that the community accepts the idea, and loves it! So why don't you let it be? There are much more important things to worry about than this mural. If our founding Father were around today, it would be a whole different issue, but he's not, and it just goes to show that we have the ability to maintain a sense of humor that translates into a work of art. Why so serious? I'm sure even George Washington himself would find it funny and uplifting. It's not disrespectful, hell, even I would be flattered to be painted on a for story building! So shove it!
To quote our project manager:
"It's just campy, deal with it!"
i was an apprentice for this project and i am glad to see that a few of my peers have already commented on this blog. I am shocked and ashamed at some of the people who are coming out with malicious and hateful comments on this blog, including the threat to spray-pait it. An astounding amount of preparation, careful thought, and grueling work went into the production of it. It's purpose is to bring a sense of humor to the area, and to stimulate thought and, yes, even pride in the community. The dress is not disrespectful: it represents the "queen city" as well as being "campy" in reference to "Camp(y) Washington". we were out there day after day and were delighted to interact with curious and supportive community members , of which there were many. I also think Mr. Gorman came up with many good points earlier, about how this was not thrust upon the people of Camp Washington, it was they who embraced it, and even helped in its development.
The owner of the building applied for a mural, and as it was going up, they even re-painted it a nice shade of red.
If anything, this should attract attention to an area that is in need of business. I appreciate the patriotism of those who are upset because of the perceived insult to George Washington, but respect for the first president was in no short supply, and indeed we felt he would get a good laught out of it.
harm to the mural would show even greater disrespect to all that George Washington stood for.
I would encourage those who are dissatisfied to paint their own mural.
"it's campy, just accept it"
also, i'm pretty proud of my gorilla, and the bolts.
I am on the art committee that directed the Campy Washington mural.
I was asked to comment on the process of the committee that oversaw the mural creation:
How do I feel about the mural?
My goal was to present a piece of art to the community. Not a street marker or sign. We wanted to encompass history, some of what has been the backbone of the community and city. Humor was a byproduct and one I encouraged.
Art is always in the eye of the beholder. Judging from the blog about the mural we have accomplished that goal. Art – controversy? I welcome it. It’s not a sign. 50,000 people pass thru our neighborhood daily as if it was a place to keep salt and prisoners. We are much more, we are America, it is a complicated dynamic that spans race, industry, art, social justice and apple pie.
> 2) the process, how things went between MuralWorks and the community, kind of input you had
We, our committee, had full range to accept or reject a number of artists based on their past portfolios. We narrowed it down to one – chiefly because of his focus on one large portrait as a theme. The feeling being that we wanted to attempt to keep the concept simple by limiting smaller detail.
We worked together to compile some of the concepts and images that have been history, icons, stories, etc of the community so the artist could have an inventory of thought to compose his work.
When presented with the rough of the mural – I was a bit put off by the drag portion of the art, but adding the Camp “y” to it seemed to round it off.
I can not and would not conceive of asking the artist to alter the image to meet my goals or agenda. It was his art, not mine. If we all attempted to do this we would have had a camel instead of a horse. He created Art, I and the others approved it.
I and the others on the committee stand by it. Actually, I think I am loving it more today!
Despite knowing how conservative this city can be, I too am a bit shocked by the outrage over this mural. I would not be afraid for my child to see this mural as it could provide an opportunity for a discussion on art, culture &/or history. Poking fun using a historical figure does not necessarily mean degrading or disrespecting that figure. I think this is an example of how we have very little tolerance as a community for the non-traditional.
I am disappointed as well by the promoting of graffiti. Destroying what you do not like or disagree with is not acceptable.
Kudos to the artists and the community for supporting this piece. Ruffling a few feathers is a good thing sometimes.
I don't really understand the deification of George Washington either. He was a great man, no doubt, and one of the greatest contributors to the life we all enjoy today. But he was also human, and flawed like the rest of us. I worry when we put people on too high of a pedestal.
I just got the light bulb...
We're the Queen City!
I THINK SOME PEOPLE NEED TO GET A LIFE. WORRY ABOUT SOMETHING MORE
IMPORTANT THAN A PAINTING.
SEEMS LIKE EVERYONE IS SO THIN SKIN NOW DAYS IF YOU SNEEZE WRONG SOMEONE WILL COMPLAIN.
CAMP IS A SMALL AREA WITH SOME GOOD PEOPLE TRYING TO MAKE IT BETTER.
GO TAKE CARE OF YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD FOR THOSE THAT DON;T LIVE HERE.
IF YOU LIVE IN CAMP & HAVE A PROBLEM SHOW UP AT THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS & GET INVOLVE
This is an insult George Washington, our country, and it's history. The artists say it is not because they have a disregard for the context that this will be viewed in. Why should we pay taxes to insult ourselves?
I believe in the value of free expression in art. But everything has its place. An image of George Washington in drag on the side of a 4 story building in the middle of a business district crosses the line on free expression
My wife and I just moved into this neighborhood, down the street from the mural. I don't know what y'all are complaining about, and I bet most of y'all haven't even seen the art. I bet most of y'all who are talking about the disrespect to the neighborhood don't even live here.
It's funny. My wife and I laugh at it every day as we walk past it. It adds flavor to a growing creative neighborhood.
Get over yourselves, get out of the house once in a while, and get a sense of humor.
I live here and I love it. It amazes me that so many people are upset about it. With all of the really bad things happening in our neighborhoods, do they really have nothing better to do than bitch about a piece of art? I agree with one of the previous posts. If you live here and object, take it up with the right officials. If you don't live here, then knock it off. Whether the city and it's residents choose to leave it or remove it is their decision to make, not yours.
I Live in Camp Washington, and I grew up in Camp Washington. I find it disgusting and very very disrespecting to myself and my family. I've told my eight year old daughter a few times that some artist thought about what he wanted to do for himself when she asked me, "why is that man in a dress"? To the team of teens who helped paint this the work is great, but the concept and thought process to create this is very very poor. Where are the taggers when you need them.
I can't believe how many people say that this is an unreal portrait of George Washington, but say nothing about the flying pigs. What an insult to pigs! And are we trying to claim that pigs are like angels? Obviously, this line of questioning is as crazy as asking if Washington were really a drag queen. This is fun fantasy that Camp Washington representatives agreed to. Period. Might as well take down the flying pigs at Sawyer Point as well; call it the On-The-Ground Pig Marathon; etc.,etc. Do away with Spiderman and SuperMan and, oh my gosh, Santa Claus, too. Maybe instead of worrying about this fantasy depiction, time could be spent on real-life representations that hurt people, like websites that promote hatred of certain ethnic groups. Lighten up! And kudos to the young artists. The mural looks wonderful!!
and a p.s. to the previous posts that seem so angry and pass this anger and misunderstanding about artists (that if you don't happen to share an artist's perspective, they must be selfish). Instead, to put a positive spin on things and life, why not ask your daughter to look up the word campy and try to figure out why things are unreal and goofy in the mural? This is a good lesson in (1) learning new words; (2) interpretation of "texts"; (3) learning by doing rather than learning by being told (by someone who's not even an expert on the subject). Then, your daughter can do something fun and campy herself--maybe she'll draw a picture of a cow with a wig, or a recent president with wings. Being open to that and to the mural would help teach your daughter that (1) she can make up her own mind about things that are ultimately harmless; and (2) life can be silly and fun and doesn't have to be serious all the time.
A response to Mr. Artisful. I really don't need advice from you on how to raise my daughter. I myself am an artist. I am a Chef de par tie at a 4 star fine dining restaurant here in Cincinnati. I have been painting and sketching for 30 years now. My artistry now is in Culinary, which I am very passionate about. I believe it was selfish to paint that ghastly thing the neighborhood that I have grown up in, and love. I know what the word campy means and I've taken offense that the artist has chosen to call my hometown goofy. That was the word you used right? I teach my daughter to show respect to people in authority. To pay homage to those who have come before us and built this great nation in which we have the right to disrespect them if that is what we choose to do. Thankfully my daughter draws beautiful pictures of houses on hills, our crazy cats, and her family. On the issue of being harmless sir this is far from the definition as I know it. In U.S. Chili there is a petition of names from Camp Washington residents and business owners who agree that this is not something we want here. The list grows day by day. Now harmless in the sense that it doesn't physically inflict pain on my daughter or myself, but I do feel disrespected by it. And according to the signed petition that will be taken to Mayor Mallory for the removal of this so called art I am not the only one. So I don't know who the proofs were shown too, but obviously it wasn't shown to anyone that I know in Camp Washington and I've been here for 31 years. so I know a few residents.
Its nice to know that this was a community effort. Given this piece of information I'll probably just keep on moving by those businesses in that district that I often stop by for a meal. I'm over it now.
Anonymous poster September 2, 2008 12:56 AM is actually Todd Westermeyer, a FORMER cook at Jean-Robert's Pigall's who is now trying to earn a living as an "artist". It's good for Todd that his British wife makes a good living, because lord knows that Todd can't earn a living as an "artist".
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