Greg Davila, whose photographs of semi-nude, embracing same-sex couples have been at the center of a controversy on Vashon, has removed his photos from Good Merchandise, a downtown shop where they have hung since they were removed from another Island art space.
Davila said he took down his work because he was “frustrated and disgusted” about how the story of his artwork was told in a KOMO news broadcast of the story, which led with the question, “When does art cross the line into pornography?”
The story has also garnered headlines in other news outlets and appears to have gone viral, capturing attention on blogs and social networking sites including Facebook.
Davila said he felt like the “media machine” has turned his artwork into “a dog and pony show” that obscured the real meaning behind the photographs.
“This is very personal and it is hitting me on a personal level,” Davila said. “I created the photographs because I have friends out there who can’t tell their families who they are. It’s heart wrenching to me that in mainstream America, we’re not even ready to talk about it, to open the door and come out of the closet and have this discussion with our friends and family members.”
Davila’s work — a set of nine soft-focused photographs — were taken down from an exhibit at Vashon’s Two Wall Gallery last week by Louise Rice, the owner of the building that houses the gallery.
Ray Rice, who owns the building with his wife Louise, said that one of the reasons his wife removed Davila’s work was because of their depictions of gay couples.
“The entire homosexual content was part of it,” he said. “We have a right to critique what goes on in our building.”
Pen and ink drawings by another artist, Monica Gripman, were also removed by Rice, who objected to text on one of the drawings that included a profane word.
AnnaLisa Lafayette, who owns Good Merchandise, a shop located across the street from the gallery, has exhibited the works by Gripman and Davila for the past week, and Gripman’s works are still on view at the shop.
Davila said he would be open to having his photographs exhibited somewhere else.
“I’d consider that on a case by case basis,” he said.
