This happened last semester in CSULB when Kimberli Meyers was fired and the exhibit went on "paused." It was also problematic with my Art Social Action class because we were supposed to collaborate with lauren woods but this happened and the whole class ended up presenting lesson plans and other presentations at the UAM.
It kind of frustrating that it happened. I remember entering the exhibit with my class and I wondered why there were no record disks even though there was a sign that said "play record." Also, there been protests outside of the Art building, disrupting classes such as my illustration class when the School of Arts and other staff members has no legal power to fix the problem. It's mainly the president of the university to decide who decide who gets to stay or leave.
Just a touch on the article, it's about the halt of the American Monument which focus on police brutality and the firing of Kimerli Meyers, the UAM's director. Link is on the bottom and on the image.
To get the discussion going, what do you think about the pause of the exhibit? What do you think about the university decision to fire Meyers? Is it ironic for an university which prized diversity to not let an exhibit on diversity and police brutality to run it course? Any comment will do. What are your reactions?
https://hyperallergic.com/461150/american-monument-lauren-woods-kimberli-meyer-california-state-university-long-beach/
Hey Donna,
I agree with some of what others have said here. It seems awfully suspicious that this action took place when it did and if they have nothing to hide then they should be completely transparent about the situation. The fact that they haven't raises a lot of red flags. Universities tend to wait out controversy, knowing that student bodies can only give them trouble for a few years until they leave and a new batch of students clueless about the situation replaces them.
Hi Donna, I do remember hearing about this as the story came out last year. From the quick reading I did to refresh my memory on the matter it seemed that the reason Meyers was fired was because of the way feedback and concerns were handled based on race which came across as insensitive. (Maybe seen as racial profiling?)
Although from her statement she was trying to be inclusive because she was contacted by someone from the BSU about what cultural groups were consulted, if any, before the exhibit went live. The BSU later said that the person who asked that was acting as an individual and didn't represent the BSU.
In an attempt to put out one fire, another…
Hello. It is odd that the exhibit was paused. I do agree that the idea of being fired because of wanting to showcase police brutality is wrong; however, I don't believe Kimerli Meyers would be fired because of that. The universe is said to prize diversity, so some information was left out. The article in the link tend to be a bit bias, reporting only one side of the view, but it could have done a better effort to try and gain information from the administration.
This is an interesting article and blog post, Donna. I think the timing of Meyer being fired is a little suspicious based on the fact that the transcripts of the American Monument audio were released just a few days before. I also think it's hard to believe that the university firing Meyer has "no link" to the content of the exhibit. However, I think that from the university's standpoint, art should be open to multiple interpretations. But based on lauren woods' statements, it seems clear that she has only one interpretation that she wants the audience to see when they visit, and perhaps it is for this reason that the university is hesitant to support this single-minded interpretation.
Hello Donna,
I think it is very unfortunate that the university president and all the other higher-ups did not really think through the consequences of firing a faculty member during this exhibit. It is also saddening that this has affected out school of art, as artist will question if this school is a safe space to showcase work and bring up issues and discussions. I had agreed with Professor Laurie in that there should have been more transparency between the school, the faculty and the president to fix any misunderstandings.