Trigger-Happy Texas. ART Gun in Apollo Magazine

Gun sculpture silenced in trigger-happy Texas

Rakewell

12 May 2016

Introducing Rakewell, Apollo’s wandering eye on the art world. Look out for regular posts taking a rakish perspective on art and museum stories.

Rakewell’s thousand-yard stare is today directed towards Houston, where student artist Alton DuLaney has found himself in the line of fire over a recent sculpture. The work in question – a framed revolver with the word ‘ART’ printed on a flag protruding from its barrel – has reportedly been censored at an exhibition at the Blaffer Art Museum.

According to the Houston Press, the decision to censor DuLaney’s work was taken by officials from the University of Houston, on whose campus the Blaffer is located (it houses the university’s teaching collection). The gun has now been removed from the exhibit, presumably along with the point of the work: namely, as DuLaney says, to highlight the prevalence of guns in Texan culture.

Oddly enough, the silencing of this work coincides with the passing of the State of Texas’s new ‘campus carry’ law, which, as of August, will allow students at public universities across the Lone Star State to carry concealed guns. Among the institutions where the new law will apply is… the University of Houston! Indeed, back in February, when the law was ratified, UH prepared a slideshow warning faculty members to be ‘careful discussing sensitive topics’, ‘Not “go there” if you sense anger’ and, most astonishingly, to ‘drop certain topics from [their] curriculum’. And although UH has attempted to limit the terms of the new law – forbidding firearms in as many buildings and campus spaces as it can – one does rather marvel at the university museum’s decision to interfere with DuLaney’s work. 

 

As the Press reports, UH’s Office of Central Council has said that even if DuLaney had tried to exhibit his, erm, explosive work after the new measures are implemented, it would still have been suppressed – though it has as yet neglected to explain why.

At this point, might Rakewell suggest that the censorious officials reconsider their priorities?

For more, check out Apollo International Art Magazine 

Pistol Packing Artists Alton DuLaney is "amused" on Fussion.net

University of Houston removes student’s gun art project—just weeks before campus carry law goes into effect

ART Gun by Alton DuLaney at center of Texas controversy. 2016.

The University of Houston has removed a student artist’s project that shows a real gun shooting a banner that says “art”—just weeks before Texas’ new concealed-campus-carry law goes into effect.
The Daily Cougar reports that first-year MFA student Alton DuLaney created the piece to make a direct statement on the law, which was passed last summer.

He then directly contacted the University’s police about whether his piece would be allowed; the police forwarded his inquiry to school administrators. Eventually, the Office of the General Counsel released the following statement:

“Under current Texas state law, firearms are forbidden on campus. The fact that they may be exhibited as part of an arts exhibition doesn’t change the analysis.”

In an email, the Cougar said, the school’s chief of police added, “No guns are currently allowed on campus. We do not censor art.”

The piece is now being displayed without the gun.

Censored ART Gun by Alton DuLaney as seen on ABC13 Houston Eyewitness News. 2016

 

 

DuLaney said he is amused.

“There’s an obvious implication of power that this thing has, that this inanimate object has when combined with ammunition and intent to create damage,” DuLaney told Houston Press. “So I wanted to create a piece that said all of that, but that was diffused by being cloaked in a statement of art.”
Nine states now have concealed campus carry laws.

“I was hoping my alterations of this piece would transform it and it would be seen strictly as an art piece and then we could be having this conversation,” DuLaney told ABC13. “The authorities here on campus felt otherwise. They felt it was still a weapon, even though it had been altered, and couldn’t be included.”

Read the whole article at Fussion.net 

Straight Shooting! ART Gun on NPR's Texas Standard

Straight Shooting! ART Gun on Texas Standard

As heard on these stations across the great state of Texas...

Gun Art, Without the Gun

The censorship of the piece has garnered more attention than it would have originally.

By Rhonda Fanning & Laura Rice  |  May 9, 2016  12:00 pm

 

ART Gun by Alton DuLaney, Texas 2016.

 

Courtesy Anton DuLaney

The original ARTGun piece has been modified due to university rules.

The school of art annual student exhibition is underway at the University of Houston’s Blaffer Art Museum. An incomplete piece called ‘ARTGun’ is on display in the exhibition.

The art? A .22 revolver, unloaded and displayed in a glass frame with a red flag with the words “ART” on it sticking out of the barrel. But the university police and the school’s general council said it could not be displayed as originally designed. The gun is no longer part of the art. Instead, it’s now a framed box with a cut out of where the gun was originally supposed to be
Artist Anton DuLaney, the creator of ‘ARTGun’ says the school authorities made it clear that the “gun is not allowed on campus and it is not open to discussion.”

As a native Texan DuLaney says that guns are “omnipotent” in Texas.

“In my work I try to examine pride, power and patriotism and for me the actual gun represented all those things,” DuLaney says.

DuLaney says that while he understands that the school was enforcing the law, it is still censorship. He says the gun would have been displayed in a glass frame and the museum has security cameras so it posed no threat to anyone.

The censorship has generated more interest in the piece than it would have otherwise received.
“They did me a big favor by not allowing it,” DuLaney says.

“I was really (more) interested in my First Amendment rights, than my second amendment rights on this. They really just reinforced that for me,” DuLaney says.

The censorship comes at a time when concealed handguns will be allowed on school campuses starting August this year.

“Through the course of this piece I started taking gun safety classes and went through the whole training for the license to carry program here in Texas,” DuLaney says. “I have got a broader perspective on this now than ever before.”

Post prepared by Swathi Narayanan.

Guns a blazing! Houston Matters KUHF

Alton DuLaney's ART Gun on KUHF Houston Matters May 2016

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
A lot can happen in a week. Some of it good. Some of it bad. Some of it downright ugly. When faced with intriguing developments in the week’s news, we turn to our rotating panel of “non-experts” to parse The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of it all. Today Kyrie O’Connor, Wayne Ashley and Russ Capper discuss the possibility of the proposed high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas including a stop downtown, ALTON DULANEY - a University of Houston student artist’s gun-themed work displayed without the gun, and suspicion by municipalities over CenterPoint Energy’s request to charge customers to cover an additional $60 million in costs to deliver power to the region.


Listen to the discussion on ART Gun (5.40 into recording) on KUHF

Taking Aim at Controversy - ABC13 Eyewitness News

ABC13 Eyewitness News Houston coverage of ART Gun by Alton DuLaney

Alton DuLaney being interviewed for ABC13 Eyewitness News Houston by Steve Campio for ART Gun. Texas May 2016

THE ARTS

Campus police censor UH student's gun-inspired ART

Officials say a ban on weapons applies even to art installations.

By Steve Campion

Thursday, May 05, 2016 05:33PM

HOUSTON (KTRK) --

Is it art or a weapon? A University of Houston graduate student said his work of art was censored by campus police.

Alton DuLaney told abc13 his piece titled "ART Gun" featured a .22 caliber single action revolver to symbolize power. DuLaney placed a bright flag with the world "ART" in the barrel of the gun.

The artist said he wanted to spark a broader conversation about gun culture. Instead, he was told the art was illegal to make or bring on campus.

"I was trying to take a very neutral stance on it because it's a very divided subject here in Texas in particular, whether pro or anti-gun," said DuLaney.

"My stance was pro-art. I really wanted to present it and let the viewing audience have the conservation. I really wanted to start up a conversation. I think the censoring of it by the police department was very helpful in that."

ART Gun by Alton DuLaney. Texas May 2016

DuLaney's piece is hanging inside the Blaffer Museum for the annual student art exhibition without the revolver. There are two explainers placed next to it -- one written by DuLaney and another from general counsel.

"I view the museum as a sacred place. I think art has the power to transform both objects and opinions. I was hoping my alterations of this piece would transform it and it would be seen strictly as an art piece and then we could be having this conversation. The authorities here on campus felt otherwise. They felt it was still a weapon, even though it had been altered, and couldn't be included."

The University of Houston released the following statement to abc13 when asked for comment.

"SB11, adopted in our last legislative session, allows individuals licensed to carry concealed handguns to 'carry a concealed handgun on or about the license holder's person while the license holder is on the campus of an institution of higher education' effective August 1, 2016 subject to rules adopted by the president of the institution.

"Until August 1, 2016, the Texas Penal Code prohibits a person from bringing a firearm onto campus, even in the guise of 'art.' The art as proposed was to include a real firearm and therefore, it was explained that the law did not have an exception for what was proposed. Under these circumstances, the guidance provided to the student and the Blaffer was related to compliance, nothing more."

Read the article, watch the video on ABC13.com

Banning ART - The Houston Press

UH Removes Gun Art Display From Exhibit, Pretty Much Making Artist's Point for Him

Wednesday, May 4, 2016 at 6 a.m.

By Meagan Flynn

ART Gun by Artist Alton DuLaney Texas 2016

Artist Alton DuLaney couldn't be mad that University of Houston officials censored his gun art from an exhibit at the Blaffer Art Museum — they basically made his point for him.

Despite the fact that students will literally be sitting in English class with loaded guns on them in just three months, apparently DuLaney's exhibit, showing an unloaded revolver with a cartoonish banner that says "ART" protruding from its barrel, is all too threatening right now. Unlike private schools, UH is required to implement the new campus carry law slated to go into effect this August whether it likes it or not (from the looks of its restrictive campus-carry proposal, it doesn't like it). But even if DuLaney's exhibit went up in August while students were packing heat on the sidewalks, the UH Office of General Counsel has, interestingly, said that DuLaney's gun art still likely wouldn't have been allowed. (Yeah, we're still waiting on the office's further explanation for that.)

Now, the ART banner is the only item behind the glass, but DuLaney said the gun's absence may say more than its presence: “It proved my point about how controversial this object was,” he said.

DuLaney had planned to make a statement about the power of guns by juxtaposing the revolver with the "bang" comic-book-like graphic that says "ART." That cartoonish element reminded DuLaney of how guns are so omnipresent in Texas culture that, even for kids in this state, toy guns are part of growing up. He was wondering: If he transformed the gun to look this way, would it still have as much power? After UH's decision, the answer was, well, apparently yes.

“There's an obvious implication of power that this thing has, that this inanimate object has when combined with ammunition and intent to create damage,” DuLaney said. “So I wanted to create a piece that said all of that, but that was diffused by being cloaked in a statement of art."

The UH Office of General Counsel posted a two-paragraph explanation directly beneath DuLaney's display case for why the school banned the gun from the show, citing the Texas law that bans guns on campus (until August). Never mind the fact that someone else created an entire exhibit of prison shanks and nunchucks that are evenly laid out in a seven-foot-long display box — that's apparently fair game.

Which is pretty funny to DuLaney, given that, even if people were carrying deadly weapons on their way to class, his gun art (but not prison shanks) would still be off-limits...behind a glass case.

At the time he thought up the display, conversations were swirling around campus carry, some with heated intensity.DuLaney says his display is intended to be neutral, but that he was hoping it would still “fan the flames of dialogue” amid controversial debate. At UH, it was apparent just how touchy the subject had become among faculty after one professor even directed faculty in a presentation to “Be careful discussing sensitive topics,” to “Drop certain topics from your curriculum” and to “Not 'go there' if you sense anger.” “There's a weariness or fragility to having that conversation,” DuLaney said, hoping his artsy gun would eliminate some of that.

But guess we won't find out.

Read the article in The Houston Press

The exhibit is open until May 14, 2016, at 4173 Elgin Street, Houston, Texas.

A Loaded Subject - Glasstire

No Guns At UH, Even If It’s Art. Until August.

02 May 2016

/

Glasstire

Last week, the University of Houston’s Art Department opened their annual show of works by first and second-year graduate students as well as UH undergrads. Prior to the exhibition’s opening, MFA student Alton DuLaney met with resistance from UH’s Police and Legal departments about a work he wanted to include in the show. The piece, ART Gun, is made from a pistol and was intended to comment on the recent campus carry law passed in Texas—as a public university, UH will be required to allow concealed weapons on campus starting August 1st of this year.

The UH Police sent the artist this statement: “I have consulted with Legal and the gun is not to be allowed on campus. From both our positions, the matter is closed”

The artist on their reason for creating ART Gun:
“I wanted to create a piece of ART that took a neutral stance on the subject while at the same time commenting on the omnipresence of guns in the American culture and society, and opening up the dialog to this conversation.”

DuLaney says the work is inspired by Chris Burden, Marina Abramovic, Andy Warhol, Marcel Duchamp, Roy Lichtenstein, and Mel Chin (who recently had a show at the Blaffer Art Museum on campus).

Ultimately, the artist chose to exhibit the work without the gun, asking, “Did the authorities give even more power to the object by forbidding its exhibition and thereby validate the power of the ART by censoring it?”

Read the Article on Glasstire 

ART too dangerous to display in the Houston Chronicle

The gun was part of my art. UH said no.

Is some art too dangerous to display?

By Alton DuLaney, for the Houston Chronicle

May 2, 2016

The original version of "ARTGun," by artist Alton DuLaney. The University of Houston denied him permission to display the work as intended. Through May 14, a gun-less version is on view at Blaffer Art Museum.

I am an artist. I make art. In my work I examine the concepts of pride, power, and patriotism, especially as it relates to art.

Having recently moved back to my native Texas to obtain an MFA through the University of Houston, I have been fascinated with the discourse about guns — especially the loaded (pun intended) topics of concealed handgun licenses, licenses to carry, and campus carry.

I wanted to create a piece of art that took a neutral stance on the controversial subject, while at the same time commenting of the omnipresence of guns in the American culture. I quickly learned that getting a gun in Texas is much easier than getting an MFA.

For the annual exhibition of student art at UH's Blaffer Art Museum, I created a piece called "ARTGun": A real .22 revolver, not loaded, in a glass frame, with a cartoon-like "Bang" flag protruding from its barrel.

People familiar with art history will see that I was drawing on a long list of artists who've gone before me. I used the same caliber of gun that artist Chris Burden used "Shoot," the famous 1971 performance in which he had an assistant shoot him in the arm. I referenced Marina Abramovic, who in a 1974 performance laid out a table with 72 items, including a loaded gun, and invited artists to do as they saw fit. Then there's Andy Warhol (with his famous portrait of a gun­slinging Elvis), Marcel Duchamp (and his exploration in the beauty of the ready­made), Roy Lichtenstein (with his comic book approach to Pop Art), and even Mel Chin (who has exhibited works of art relating to both firearms and ammunitions at the Blaffer Art Museum).

The gun-less version of "ARTGun" — along with the artist's statement and a statement by Blaffer Art Museum — is part of the Blaffer's annual student art exhibiton.

When I proposed this piece for the show, I was advised by the UH police and legal departments that "the gun is not to be allowed on campus...(and) the matter is closed." Despite my efforts, and those of the museum, the piece was forbidden from being exhibited in its original form.

I have chosen to include the piece in the show anyway — only without the gun that was central to its original conception.

The situation brings up interesting questions:

­When a thing (a revolver) is designated an artifact (an art object object) is it still regarded as contraband (a weapon)?

­How is an unloaded piece of industrial design securely framed and under glass hanging on the wall as art, in a museum with security and cameras, still considered inherently and prohibitively dangerous?

­Does art have the power to transform things, appearances, beliefs, opinions?

­Is this object so powerful and taboo that it can't even be allowed into the building?

­Can we as a society see guns on TV and in movies, and even out on the street, but not in the museum?

­Is a museum a sacred space?

­By not allowing the gun into the the exhibition, was even more power given to the object, and thereby validate the power of the ART by censoring it?

When: 10-5, Tuesdays-Saturdays, through May 14. Where: Blaffer Art Museum, University of Houston, 4173 Elgin. How much: Free.

Read the article in The Houston Chronicle

Alton DuLaney is an artist and MFA student at the University of Houston. Check out more Gray Matters. Is this object so powerful and taboo that it can't even be allowed into the building?

Gunslinging! ART Gun Censored - The Daily Cougar by Emily Burleson

Student art ‘censored’ at Blaffer Museum

By Emily Burleson April 29, 2016

Many of DuLaney’s pieces explore and question themes of power, pride and patriotism. He calls his works “self-referential,” as each piece contains the word “ART.” | Pablo Milanese / The Cougar

The tagline for the School of Art’s Annual Student Exhibition, which will run Friday through May 14, asserts the student creations will leave the studio and be displayed for the public. One piece of art, however, will not get to the museum in full form.

Even though first year M.F.A student Alton DuLaney finished his piece, which features a revolver, months ago, it will be exhibited without the gun in the Blaffer Art Museum after the UH Office of the General Counsel prohibited it.

“Ideally, the museum should be the one making that decision, not the police department,” DuLaney said. “My goal is just to bring attention to this whole situation, both the censorship and the fact that (handguns) will be allowed on campus in classrooms soon but not in the museum.”

DuLaney, who studies interdisciplinary practice and emerging forms, intended for his piece to be shown as he originally designed it: a revolver enclosed in a glass frame with a silk flag reading “ART” emerging from the barrel. DuLaney said he hoped his piece would be an innocuous statement and ignite conversations regarding campus carry.

After DuLaney created the piece, he contacted UHPD directly. His query was forwarded to the Office of the General Counsel, which said DuLaney would not be allowed to have the gun on campus. The piece will now hang in the exhibition without the revolver.

DuLaney’s piece will be displayed without the revolver in the Blaffer Art Museum from April 29 through May 14. | Courtesy of Alton DuLaney

“Under current Texas state law, firearms are forbidden on campus. The fact that they may be exhibited as part of an arts exhibition doesn’t change the analysis,” according to a statement from the Office of the General Counsel, which does not consider the prohibition as censorship.

“No guns are currently allowed on campus. We do not censor art,” said UH Chief of Police Ceaser Moore Jr. in an email.

DuLaney and IPEF Director John Reed, who approved DuLaney’s piece for the exhibition, disagree.
“In an art gallery context, this is my first example of censorship,” Reed said. “If somebody can’t express themselves, then it is censorship. Sometimes, we as a society feel that’s justified, and sometimes we feel that it’s not.”

In this case, Reed said the UHPD and General Counsel’s decision had no justification.
“The gun in the piece is really not available as a gun,” Reed said. “It’s mounted in a frame. It has a flag down its barrel. It’s unloaded, and it’s in an environment where security is watching it the entire time the gallery is open. Humorously, it would be far easier to walk in with your own gun than to come in, steal that gun, load it and then use it for something. It’s really not a safety issue.”

Reed called DuLaney a “wise student and mature thinker” who raises questions before stepping back and allowing the viewers to come up with their own answers.

DuLaney said he hoped his piece would encourage people to ask questions like, “By not allowing the gun into the the exhibition, was even more power given to the object, and thereby validated the power of the ART by censoring it?” and “Is a museum a sacred space?” 

“I think that’s an artist’s job: put the question out there so that we have to deal with it, and that’s what he’s tried to do,” Reed said. “With or without the gun, the discussion has to happen. Whether (Blaffer Art Museum’s director and chief curator) Claudia Schmuckli’s version of the show or Ceaser Moore’s version of the show is what we see, Alton’s piece, luckily, will bring up the same discussion either way.”

news@thedailycougar.com


Read the article in The Daily Cougar 

Tags: Alton DuLaney, Blaffer Art Museum, interdisciplinary practice and emerging forms, School of Art Annual Student Exhibition

ART Gun

ART Gun

Artist Alton DuLaney in his Houston Texas Studio April 2016 photo by Paolo Milanese

My name is Alton DuLaney. I am an Artist. I make ART. In my work I examine the concepts of Pride, Power, and Patriotism, especially as it relates to ART and the identity politics of being an American Artist.

Having recently moved back to my native Texas to obtain an MFA through the University of Houston, I have been fascinated with the discourse about guns, the incredibly loaded (pun intended) topic of Concealed Handgun License, License To Carry, and especially Campus Carry. I wanted to create a piece of ART that took a neutral stance on the controversial subject, while at the same time commenting on the omnipresence of guns in the American culture, and opening up the dialog to these conversations. Thus the piece ART Gun was conceived. I soon learned that getting a gun in Texas is much easier than getting an MFA!

Artist Alton DuLaney sketch ART Gun Texas 2016

Exploring the gun as an object of power, the piece I have created for this exhibition is called ART Gun, and is inspired by Chris Burden (using the same caliber of gun he used in his famous shooting piece), Marina Abramovic (who used a pistol in one of her early performances), Andy Warhol (with his famous portrait of a gun-slinging Elvis), Marcel Duchamp (and his exploration in the beauty of the ready-made), and Roy Lichtenstein (with his comic book approach to Pop Art), and even Mel Chin (who has exhibited works of art relating to both firearms and ammunition at the Blaffer Art Museum).

Roy Lichtenstein inspiration for ART Gun by Alton DuLaney

Combining my varied experience and interests of art history, window design, circus arts, custom framing, and media training,  I created what I intended to be a neutral yet provocative statement on the implicit power of the firearm, as well as ART’s power to transform objects, appearances, and hopefully opinions. After all, in Texas, a gun is a common toy for children, so surely it could also be ART. With the debate being so au courant, I did my research into art precedence and local law.

Inspiration for ART Gun by Alton DuLaney 2016

I educated myself on gun safety. I wanted to make sure that no one was harmed in the production and exhibition of this piece, including myself. I took numerous gun safety classes, completing the workshop and exams to be certified for a LTC license. However getting the piece into the Blaffer Museum, proved harder than hitting the bull’s eye.

When I proposed this piece for the show, I was advised by the UH Police and Legal departments that …”the gun is not to be allowed on campus…(and) the matter is closed”. Despite my efforts, and those from the museum, the piece was forbidden from being exhibited in its original form.

ART Gun by Artist Alton DuLaney Texas 2016

I have chosen to include the piece in the show, presented here without the gun, because the situation brings up several interesting questions:

- When a thing (revolver) is designated an artifact (ART object) is it still regarded as contraband (weapon)?

- How is an unloaded piece of industrial design securely framed and under glass hanging on the wall as ART in a museum with security and cameras still considered inherently and prohibitively dangerous?

- Does ART have the power to transform things, appearances, beliefs, opinions?

- Is this particular object so powerful and taboo that it can’t even be allowed into the building?

- Can we as a society see guns on TV and in Movies and even out on the street but not in the museum?

- Is a museum a sacred space?

- By not allowing the gun into the the exhibition, was even more power given to the object, and thereby validate the power of the ART by censoring it?

- When can a gun be justified on campus or in a museum?

- What is the difference between displaying and brandishing?

- Is it freedom of expression or is it public safety?

Ultimately, this piece of ART was not created to be Pro- or Anti-Gun, but Pro-ART!
The piece is on exhibit at the Blaffer Art Museum until 14 May 2016.

For more info from The Blaffer Art Museum

Alton DuLaney
29 April 2016