{"id":4581,"date":"2025-09-02T09:20:28","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T16:20:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/?p=4581"},"modified":"2025-09-02T09:20:30","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T16:20:30","slug":"going-back-to-vail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2025\/09\/going-back-to-vail\/","title":{"rendered":"Going back to Vail"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May 2024\u00a0I wrote about the town of Vail<\/a>, Colorado cancelling the artist-in-residency agreement with Danielle SeeWalker, before it even began, over complaints not of her planned art for Vail, but over other art previously made that she had reposted on social media, regarding Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My post concluded with this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

First, the cancellation of her artist-in-residency was not about any art made or anything she did during that residency: it had not yet begun. Second, just browsing her website reveals that her work is often political, explicitly dealing with the violence Europeans inflicted upon Native Americans, the exploitation, and the horrors of the boarding school system (about which she uses the term \u201cgenocide\u201d). And so they offered the artist-in-residency to someone they knew<\/em> often incorporated politics into her work, and, I am going to guess, were attracted by the \u201cedginess\u201d of bringing her to Vail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am not someone drawn to political art (nor do I hold that \u201call art is political\u201d, except in the most banal sense). I find that in the vast majority of cases neither the political intent nor the aesthetic aspects of the work succeed (yes, I know there are a few exceptions, but they are few). I also think any writer or artist ought to think long and hard when they choose to use the word \u201cgenocide\u201d. Calling a work \u201cG is for Genocide\u201d is not serious, and it is a subject warranting some gravitas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that\u2019s just me; chacun \u00e0 son go\u00fbt<\/em>. And \u201cG is for Genocide\u201d was not planned for a large-scale mural in Vail, scaring off the tourists, about which the town could have, rightly, demurred. But my take on her art, or the \u201cmessages from individuals looking closely at her social media posts\u201d, are not the point. If you are going to present an artist, as a museum, a ballet company, or a town, then you commit to it. In each of the three cases I mention here [I discussed two other, similar cancellations in the post], nothing new<\/em> was revealed about the artists from the time the commission was made. It\u2019s just that the institutions got nervous: somebody<\/em> is offended by who the artist is, whether Palestinian, Israeli, or a politically forthright Lak\u021f\u00f3ta w\u00ed\u014bya\u014b. Show some courage.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Well, this is America: she sued, and a settlement was reached. The New York Times<\/em> (gift link here<\/a>) gives the details:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The settlement, which was announced last week<\/a>, outlined four actions that Vail had agreed to take over the next five years, including hosting an annual powwow and providing annual cultural sensitivity training to employees in the town\u2019s Arts in Public Places Department by an Indigenous-led organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The town also agreed to fund a new art program for underrepresented and economically disadvantaged people, and to sponsor and pay for a community forum on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokeswoman for Vail did not immediately comment on the settlement on Friday, but pointed to a statement the town released last week<\/a>. The town denied any wrongdoing, saying it was \u201ccommitted to promoting diverse programming through its Art in Public Places efforts, as well as supporting underrepresented artists.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Well, as I said in my post last year, the town did<\/em> do wrong. It cancelled a contract with someone because some people complained about one of her social media posts about Gaza (and, so we are clear, it would have been just as wrong to cancel a contract of someone who had made pro-Israel social media posts). It awarded a contract to someone with a well-documented history of left-wing politics, and then changed its mind when someone complained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCultural sensitivity training to employees\u201d? Here\u2019s the thing: I bit they are already more culturally sensitive than the average bear, and it wasn\u2019t lack of cultural sensitivity that led to the cancellation of the artist-in-residency. The cancellation occurred because it was thought to be politically and economically prudent. \u201cA community forum on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict\u201d? Which will, in Vail, Colorado, accomplish what, exactly?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Vail needs to think about is what it means to have an artist-in-residence, what they are meant to be. An artist pure and simple, or something more than that, a representative of something beyond art – \u201cwe as a town are edgy, but not too<\/em> edgy\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m left thinking they still don\u2019t know what they are doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cross posted at https:\/\/michaelrushton.substack.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In May 2024\u00a0I wrote about the town of Vail, Colorado cancelling the artist-in-residency agreement with Danielle SeeWalker, before it even began, over complaints not of her planned art for Vail, but over other art previously made that she had reposted on social media, regarding Gaza. My post concluded with this: First, the cancellation of her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4581","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-issues","8":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/image.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3dIW5-1bT","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3017,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2024\/05\/arts-presenters-need-to-show-some-spine\/","url_meta":{"origin":4581,"position":0},"title":"Arts presenters need to show some spine","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"May 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In class I\u2019ve told students I don\u2019t like the phrase \u201ccancel culture\u201d since it is never quite clear what the speaker means by it. But arts presenters keep going around cancelling artists, and so I might need to rethink my stance on this. The\u00a0art museum on my own campus\u00a0cancelled a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/image.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/image.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/image.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/image.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1507,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/09\/artists-should-not-retain-copyright-in-publicly-commissioned-art\/","url_meta":{"origin":4581,"position":1},"title":"Artists should not retain copyright in publicly commissioned art (Updated)","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"September 10, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"An interesting story from Portland, Oregon, on the copyright held by sculptor Raymond Kaskey in his statue Portlandia. Willamette Week reports on his close guarding of reproduction rights in the large, iconic statue made 30 years ago, commissioned by the city: You would think the image of Portlandia would adorn\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Good thing he didn't make Mount Hood","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Portand-Mt-Hood.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1570,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/10\/tax-deductions-for-artists\/","url_meta":{"origin":4581,"position":2},"title":"Tax deductions for artists (updated)","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"October 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The New York Times reports on a court case involving whether an artist working for salary as teaching faculty can claim tax deductions of artist's expenses (for supplies, travel, meals, etc) in excess of profits earned on sales of art. My understanding of this (tax people please correct me if\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"operates at a loss","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Goat.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1074,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/02\/droit-de-suite\/","url_meta":{"origin":4581,"position":3},"title":"Droit de suite","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"February 27, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Legislation is proposed to bring droit de suite - a rule in which some artists receive a share of proceeds from some resales of their art - to the United States. The New York Times reports here, and blog neighbour Lee Rosenbaum analyses the proposal here. I will just deal\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"beast of burden","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/auction.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/auction.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/auction.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3730,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2025\/02\/on-art-and-the-pursuit-of-power\/","url_meta":{"origin":4581,"position":4},"title":"On art and the pursuit of power","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"February 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The arts themselves, as I considered the matter, by their ultimately sensual essence, are, in the long run, inimical to those who pursue power for its own sake. Conversely, the artist who traffics in power does so, if not necessarily disastrously, at least at considerable risk. A Buyer's Market (1952).","rel":"","context":"In "issues"","block_context":{"text":"issues","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/image-5.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/image-5.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/image-5.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1295,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/worth\/2014\/05\/art-and-money\/","url_meta":{"origin":4581,"position":5},"title":"Art and money","author":"Michael Rushton","date":"May 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"A.O. 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