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September 9, 2001
Vancouver Courier: Arts and Entertainment
Vancouver, BC
L.Smith - The Taliban Needs You
We thought narrow-minded philistines only lived in Surrey, but it turns out there's at least one who resides on the North Shore and his or her name is L. Smith. (Yet another cowardly letter writer hiding behind their initials-if that's even the person's real name.)
Without even seeing the latest work from Vancouver artist James Picard that went on exhibit at the Seymour Art Gallery Thursday, L. Smith in his or her infinite wisdom pecked out a nasty missive and dropped it off at the Deep Cove gallery. Here's what the letter said - verbatim.
Dear Mr. Picard,
I would like to make it clear to you that your trash ghetto art is not
appreciated here in our community. It is artists like you and Charlie
Mairs that are ruining our quiet and pristine North Shore! Take your filth
you call art and go back to New York where you came from.
It was signed L. Smith.
No phone number or return address was given.
Ouch! A trembling Picard must be packing his bags right now.
What L. Smith finds so objectionable must be Picard's subject matter - because no one has seen the work yet, except for a small image on a flyer advertising the exhibit, a series of 16 paintings of boxers titled On the Canvas - Ringside Impressions. It seems L. Smith is opposed to boxing - heck, so are we - but that doesn't mean we're going to condemn something before we've even seen it. If we don't approve of what we see on TV, hear on the radio or see at a gallery, we'll change the channel, tune into another station or walk on by.
Picard has wracked his brain trying to figure out what is so objectionable to people like L. Smith. The image on the flyer is of a boxer from the waist up. Other images in the exhibit are of boxers......boxing. Curator Carol Badgely says none is of a violent nature. Go figure.
Ironically L. Smith's letter has had the opposite effect to what he or she intended.
Because of that uninformed missive, the exhibit will only generate more interest (and ink in newspapers). Doesn't L. Smith realize that there's no such thing as bad publicity?
(By the way L. Smith, whoever you are, while Picard frequently spends time in New York, he is a Canadian who lives in Vancouver and has received numerous awards around the world, including the 1987 Outstanding Achievement Award at the International Art Exhibition in New York. He's also received awards for his work with underprivileged and hospitalized children in Canada and the U.S.
Mairs is a North Vancouver artist whose 1999 Seymour Art Gallery exhibit Power Girls, depicted women in various states of dress and situations, angered a number of people.)