No, wait, Yesterday was

I will be in a four-person exhibit in less than a couple of months. The exhibit will be held at the arts center of an established public library, here in the uber progressive state of California. (Some sarcasm implied).

It's quite a large space and I thought I might show some of my works on paper installations that have not been shown here in the Golden State, one of which is, "I am Optimistic about the Future."

I am going to veer off for a moment to remind everyone not to judge a book by it's cover. I like to think of my work as the troubled teen who everyone thinks is a slow learner, only to find out he's building crazy science projects in the basement. Yes, I suppose I think of my work as masculine sometimes, but we'll save that for later.

My point being, is that one of my large installations contains a banner which reads, Today was f*cked, but tomorrow tomorrow is another day, sans asterisk. On the surface, it's rather fun looking and contains the more causal components of my studio practice, such as small drawings, notes, charts, small paintings, a near-dead laptop battery, a defunct paintbrush and other ineffectual ephemera.

Turns out the library is worried that because it is a public library, city officials might become upset at the use of my language.

I feel very strongly about censorship. I was around during the NEA Four hoopla. I'm not advocating we become a potty-mouth society just for the sake of breaking down social mores, but I'd guess that at least 50% of the population has heard or used the word, "f*cked" in casual conversation as a stand in for when things go south, as in SNAFU. When I was initially told they thought it would be best if I didn't show the work, with the explanation that as a public library they didn't want to draw the attention of city government lest the janitor or another easily offended individual find it offensive, I was taken aback. I figured at best, they could put up a sign warning that the content may be objectionable to people who've never cursed. (The fact that the banner hangs upside down calls into question whether an upside down word is actually a word at all, or whether it is simply a graphic element that can be decoded by literate individuals.) I'm just sayin'. If we're dealing with bureaucracy...

In response, I was asked to write a detailed statement essentially justifying the merit of the piece by pointing out the political implications of some of the elements in the piece- such as the flowchart showing the Department of Homeland Security's chain of command. Why pointing out that today was f*cked, due to issues perhaps bigger than my laptop's dead battery or a defunct paintbrush, and aligning that with say, the DHS and the War on Afghanistan would get me any closer to exhibiting this artwork, I do not know. I wrote the statement and am now waiting for their response. I suggested they show it with the little sign warning viewers that it may be offensive, [eyes rolling] or that it could be displayed so it was more difficult to see the word, f*cked. It's embarrassingly ridiculous, yet it's not. It's insulting to know that more "offensive" graphic, or politically charged works can be shown, but that my banner might cause trouble.