Saturday, September 22, 2007

The Yes Men

Dear People,

Thanks for all the support and encouragement regarding the canceled Syracuse show. We should make it clear that the only reason we agreed to do the show in the first place was because of Astria Suparak's curation and dedication to making it happen.

When Jeff Hoone contacted us last week to ask if we would mount the show despite her firing, we told him that we would not.

Surprisingly, this did not stop him from communicating to the press that we were going to do the show, which seems to have resulted in a bit of confusion.

In closing, just to be clear: we will not do the show in Syracuse without Astria. We are a bit baffled about why it was canceled in the first place, but the only man to ask about that is Mr. Hoone, and from our limited experience with him, extracting the truth may require something of an expert in that kind of activity, and we certainly want no part in that.

Best Wishes,
The Yes Men

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

But people in Syracuse still want you to come anyway, despite all this infighting at the top. You've addressed your letter to "Dear People," but don't you even care about the citizens of Syracuse who were looking forward to the show?

Anonymous said...

But it SHOULD be a matter of principle. Hoone is lying about a collaboration with the Yes Men to soothe Syracuse, but he doesn't understand the ethical underpinnings of the Yes Men's work, and is ignoring those surrounding artists' relationships with curators. Hoone is trying to steal the show, in more ways than one.

Anonymous said...

Quoted from here...Syracuse Loses Again: Jeffrey Hoone


The email Jeff has been. Possibly still is sending to people.

"I want to specifically clear up some uncertainty this change may be
having for some about upcoming exhibitions at the Gallery, and
specifically the exhibition, "Keeping it Slick: Infiltrating Capitalism
with the Yes Men," planned for November 13, 2007 - January 26, 2008. I
believe it is important to honor the commitment to the artists and to
the faculty who have pledged support to this exhibition. I have
contacted the artists involved in developing the exhibition and will be
working with the staff at the Warehouse Gallery and will, with advice
from faculty who have made programming plans based on the exhibition,
develop strategies to allow us to continue the exhibition as planned."

Anonymous said...

But Syracuse is not a "show" for Hoone or the Yes Men or anyone else to steal. Seems like, every one in this fight is only intereste in playing to the arts community and not to the people of Syracuse who seem to me to be the real victims caught in the cross fire. This letter by the Yes Men speaks volumes And so do the other letters by the other parties involved.

But I guess all this art really wasn't meant for us was it. The warehouse is just a big bone for artistic dogs around the country to fight over.

No wonder the people in this city feel like art galleries have nothing to do with them and their daily lives!!

Anonymous said...

> But I guess all this art really wasn't meant for us was it.

Sure it is. That's why you can get the Yes Men documentary on Netflix (it had a run in theaters) and you can YouTube their performances, and almost everything they've done is online, either on their website, or elsewhere.

razai cover online said...

Thanks for all the support and encouragement regarding the canceled Syracuse show. We should make it clear that the only reason we agreed to do the show in the first place was because of Astria Suparak's curation and dedication to making it happen. 100 percent cotton percale sheets , bedsheet and blanket set ,



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BACKGROUND

Syracuse has lost one its greatest assets. Astria Suparak, Inaugural Director of The Warehouse Gallery of Syracuse University, was removed from her position as of Sept. 30th, 2007, despite widespread support from community members, students, faculty, and the international art community. This decision was made unilaterally by Jeffrey Hoone, Executive Director of the Coalition of Museum and Art Centers (CMAC).

At the time of Suparak's dismissal, Hoone also canceled her forthcoming exhibitions, including "Keep It Slick: Infiltrating Capitalism with The Yes Men," due to open in November 2007.