Paintings by local artist Paula Bullwinkel spent about one day hung in a local mixed-use building before a complaint prompted the building owner to request they come down.
“25%! Americans! Approved!” is Bullwinkel’s series of oil paintings, featuring women inspired by beauty ads from the ’60s, ’70’s and ’80s, alongside images of rodents and quotes by Donald Trump.
Bullwinkel’s paintings were hung in the common areas of the Franklin Crossing building April 2, as part of a show that included photographs by Bullwinkel’s past photography students. The next day, Bullwinkel found out that due to the complaint of a Franklin Crossing tenant, the paintings would have to be removed, at the request of the building owner.
A representative from Northwest Key Property Management, who manages the retail spaces in the building, confirmed that someone had made a complaint, but would not say how many complaints they received in the short time the paintings were hung.
Bullwinkel says the object of the complaints were three words in the quotes from the president, specifically, “pussy,” “ass” and “shithole.” The quotes are placed in different areas in each painting, with the largest of the words being approximately 1 inch high. Bullwinkel says there was concern that children may see the words when in Franklin Crossing.
“It was the words that were (considered) offensive, because the paintings without the quotes are just my typical imagery of women and girls and animals frolicking,” explains Bullwinkel, who said the paintings are a result of the anger she was feeling after the 2016 election. Feeling the words of the president were brutal enough, Bullwinkel wanted to juxtapose them with more subtle and soft imagery.
“I don’t want to create ugly imagery, because it’s too hard to look at. I want to be more subtle so people will look at it a little longer and let the words be the ugly part.”
This is not the first exhibition of this particular series. Last October, the series was on display at the Pence Pinckney Gallery at Central Oregon Community College as part of a faculty exhibition. According to Professor of Art Bill Hoppe, who oversees exhibitors in the gallery, the paintings were well received and yielded no complaints. “People looked and they read. No one was upset in any way. (This work) was a sort of confirmation of what is going on in our world,” shared Hoppe.
After taking the paintings down, Bullwinkel hung them at Bright Place Gallery for the weekend and hopes to find another home for them soon. Bullwinkel says, “I love to see it had a reaction. I thought they may be vandalized. Often with my political work, I don’t get any reaction. But when there is a reaction, I know they have had an impact.”
Other paintings by Bullwinkel are currently on display at At Liberty as part of the “Figuratively Speaking” group exhibition.
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This article appears in Apr 10-17, 2019.
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So those three words were offensive on Bullwinkel’s art, but weren’t they even more offensive when uttered publicly by the person who sits in the Oval Office?
The people who complained and forced the censorship of art are cowards hiding behind the cloak of secrecy. They need to demonstrate some courage and go public or they need to be exposed. I for one will boycott Franklin Crossing eateries and let them know why. The idea tshat children would be exposed to these words is ludicrous. Thanks to the amoral miscreant in the White House they have already been exposed to this and much more significant profanity–such as kidnapping of refugee children. Expose the cowardly censors! Tell us who they are. –Michael Funke
Viki — You’ve honed in on exactly why this story is interesting.
This is truly remarkable. This is why this town will forever be juvenile, caught in arrested development. Hiding behind the fear of offending people’s sensibilities or promoting so-called bipartisan civility is just yet another example of how Bend’s hypocrisy reigns supreme. Just 2 years ago City Hall gave a proclamation against hate. Everyone pat themselves on the back and pretended like they cared about the plight of others.
So few that live here have anything at stake in this political climate and they continue to behave as such. Bend loves to act progressive: honoring women, decrying sexual violence, claiming moral high ground when taking a stance against racism. But that’s all it is: an act. The second anything of even minute substance enters the foray, everyone shudders, frowns, and wants to whitewash the harsh realities that exist all over this country. Yes, even here. Especially here.
Grow up Bend. Get your head out of the sand. Step down from your pedestal, join us down here, in reality, where people get hurt, murdered, brutalized, raped, and lynched. All in your name, all in the name of civilized society, all in the name of preservation of the culture you enjoy.
Wake up and smell your prejudice, Bend. You stink of it entirely.
So it’s okay for a President to actually says these vile things, but not for the paintings with the quotes to hang in Franklin Crossing? The person who complained needs to take the stick out of his/her ass, get angry about the inappropriate, hateful man elected (by NOT the majority) and not worry about a few pieces of art.
The complaint probably came from a trump voter. Oh, the irony!