Pubdate: Fri, 21 Sep 2001
Source: Nelson Daily News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2001 Nelson Daily News
Contact:  http://www.nelsondailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/288
Author: Kirsten Stolee

OSO NEGRO DOESN'T WANT POSSESSION OF INTOXICATING ART

A Heritage City coffee house decided to stick to beans not buds by asking a 
local artist to remove his photographic exhibit of marijuana plants from 
their walls.

Artist Patrick Burley hung nearly 20 photos on the walls of Oso Negro 
earlier this month and after three days, they had to come down leaving the 
coffee shop walls empty.

Burley says the buds got a lot of buzz as he sat in Oso Negro the Sunday 
morning his show opened. It was exciting for him and he felt positive about 
his work, the natural and richly coloured photos. He says he wasn't 
condoning drug use.

But there was a lot of smoke outside Oso Negro as some people take a toke 
on the business's steps. Burley says he's heard there was so much of the 
illegal activity going on outside their business, they didn't want to seem 
to be condoning cannabis inside.

"They were not the bad guys at all in this situation," he says blaming the 
image itself for stirring up coffee house controversy. "These are simply 
plants, still-life's that aren't allowed to be displayed. There is no other 
plant in the world that would be approached this way."

The photographer has been working on the exhibit for about a year, spent a 
great deal of time and money on printing and framing the images. He 
decided, after wrestling with what people might think of him, to seek out 
wall space for his "Can-not-bis" exhibit.

"I took the photos just after a fishing trip. I discovered the crop and I 
went back a few days later with a full bag of camera equipment," he says. 
"They were shot a year ago and it took a year to pluck up the courage to do 
the display."

He knew his subject matter would be controversial but he chose to capture 
the beauty of the plants despite the risks he was taking as a budding 
artist with a straight and narrow career.

"This is actually a harmless plant and you can't smoke the photo," he says. 
"Taking them down was expected but still difficult. The blank walls for a 
week were as much a statement as the pictures themselves."

While Oso Negro didn't flat out "just say no to drugs," they did recommend 
Burley rework his exhibit to include a wider variety of composition, 
explains Jon Meyer of Oso Negro.

"We asked Patrick to provide a broader spectrum of material," he says. "We 
would ask any artist putting up an exhibit to have a variety … If 
anyone else came with photos, sculptures or painted pictures and it was the 
exact same thing, I would have the same response."

Oso Negro admits to having a problem with people smoking pot just outside 
their business which makes some of their customers feel uncomfortable or 
offended as they walk through the wafting smoke, says Meyer.

"Oso is about respect and room for everybody," he says. "We want everyone 
to feel comfortable and on equal footing."

Still, they weren't opposed to the exhibit's subject matter. Meyer explains 
their business is coffee and art and they weren't concerned with people 
making a connection between Oso Negro and marijuana.

"We said to him that he could keep a couple of them up," he says. "It just 
didn't seem to be very tasteful in an artistic sense. We have to make sure 
that whatever we put up is appreciated by a wide spectrum of people. I 
don't know of anyone who would like to look at that many buds on all the 
walls."

The exhibit now hangs in the backroom of Holy Smoke Culture Shop just off 
Baker Street where the owners are more than happy to provide wall space to 
Burley.

"It's art. It's bound to offend someone. People didn't like the naked David 
either," says owner Dustin Cantwell.

Cantwell's partner Paul DeFelice says it's unfortunate the pictures had to 
come down. He doesn't see a plant as controversial.

"Because it's art and Nelson being an art town and having the Artwalk, I'd 
like to think they could hang anywhere," he says. "It's a shame in this day 
and age because of prohibition - one of the first casualties of the war on 
drugs is truth - that you can't even show pictures of a plant."

But as a store owner, DeFelice understands the position of Oso Negro who 
often deal with crowds of smokers outside their business. They're facing 
added pressure, he says.

"People don't always know their boundaries and that's what happens there," 
DeFelice explains. "Then when people see an exhibit there of plants like 
that and they think Oso doesn't care so they light up."

DeFelice says there is no way to deny there are plants growing in the area 
and because they are well hidden, most people don't get to see the beauty 
captured in Burley's exhibit.

"I think this is a treat," he says. "In the oddest places, you'll see 
acceptance and in the oddest places you don't."

While Burley feels good about his photos hanging at Holy Smoke where they 
are accepted, he feels his audience has been limited.

"I've been pigeon holed. Only a select segment of the population is 
actually going to see them and it's displayed in an area that's overwhelmed 
with pot images already. There is so much of this in the store already they 
don't stand out for what they are," he says.

Oso Negro was his first choice.

"It's where I hang out and it's where a lot of people I like hang out. As 
far as I am concerned, those are the most prominent walls in town. It's the 
place to get the show," he says.

Artwalk coordinator Pat Henman suggests the exhibit should never have went 
up in the first place if it was inappropriate for the space reserved by the 
artist.

"If the venue knew before hand, they would have said no and that's their 
prerogative," she says. "The artist has to find the right venue for their 
work. He's allowed to show whatever he wants. Artistically, we're a free 
country - let's not take that away but also the store has their rights."

Artistic controversy isn't an anomaly in Nelson, says Henman. There are 
nudes on exhibit now at the All Seasons restaurant as a part of Artwalk but 
the business has to be comfortable with what they hang on their walls.

"There has to be a market for their work and artists have to know their 
town," she says. "Show your work and ask."

This is the first time Oso Negro has had a problem with an artist's exhibit.

Because this was Burley's first exhibit and he put all his resources into 
it, he says he wasn't able to provide anything else as Oso Negro suggested.
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