USA, museum director gets fired, and artist pauses exhibition on police violence

In Long Beach (California, USA), the director of the local California State University Art Museum, Kimberli Meyer, was fired just days before the opening of the exhibition American Monument, a solo show by artist Lauren Woods focusing on police violence, specifically the killings of African Americans by police: a centerpiece of the exhibit is an interactive sound installation featuring audio recordings from court proceedings, footage of witnesses to news events, and police acts. All combined with supporting materials such as legal documents associated with each of the cases on display. The purpose of the exhibition is also to investigate a particular aspect of the concept of law: “Law,” said the artist, “is a product of a culture, and it produces culture. It does not live outside the scope of culture because it is itself culture. So, I proposed this constantly developing project, this monument, so that it would serve as a tool that people can use to contemplate in a deeper way and relate to language and the production of culture since this is about law enforcement, structural violence and oppression.”

The museum administration did not offer specific reasons for Kimberli Meyer’s dismissal: however, Cyrus Parker-Jeannette, dean of the University’s College of the Arts, explained in a statement that it was a measure that came at the end of a lengthy process and that it did not affect the American Monument exhibition. Rather, the dean hoped, “the project continues, directed by Lauren Woods. The installation was created with the goal of stimulating open and free discussion. Our campus is a place of civil debate and artistic expression. American Monument is part of that culture.”

In spite of this, Lauren Woods, in a lengthy statement posted on the exhibition’s website, announced that she was putting American Monument “on hold” as a consequence of Meyer’s dismissal: this is because, she explained, the project was born in collaboration with her after a long gestation, and to continue it without a person who was instrumental in its birth is not deemed appropriate. “When Kimberli invited me to work with UAM to produce American Monument,” the artist explained, “I immediately said yes, without hesitation or ulterior motive, for three main reasons. First, because I have a ten-year professional relationship with Kimberli Meyer, during which I have been able to assay Kimberli’s support for artists working on political issues and her ability to simplify difficult and conflicting content to a position of leadership in the contemporary art world. Second, because I was tasked with listening to her vision for the new institution she would lead, a vision of clearly disrupting white supremacy, and I wanted to support her in this effort. Third, and most important [...] the very context of the UAM, which is what Kimberli herself recognized as important: the university. As an educator, I would be remiss if I said that the idea of building a pedagogical tool with students and for students was not extremely appealing to me. The context of a university museum for this work allows for the intersection of art and cultural production with the thinking and community of those learning. So I saw the potential for a unique collaboration in creating a monument close to young people actively discovering and claiming their place in the world, and trying to understand what power and authority are.”

The university, Woods laments, has removed its “earliest and most involved collaborator and institutional assistant, someone who is integrally part of American Monument’s existence. The utter contempt on the part of the institution, not only for the artwork but for work that is even greater than the artwork itself, is hard to comprehend. To remove a key partner for this project from the leadership of the museum at this critical time and to really expect this project to continue denotes a profound lack of understanding about what this work really is.” For these reasons, Lauren Woods finally expressed her willingness to suspend the exhibition. Meanwhile, a petition has also been launched calling for Kimberli Meyer’s reinstatement.

In the image, Lauren Woods explains American Monument.

USA, museum director gets fired, and artist pauses exhibition on police violence

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