James Gendron

Dear Mr. Hoone, Ms. Cantor, Mr. Spina and Ms. Brzozowski,

I am writing to lament the dismissal of Astria Suparak, curator of the Warehouse Gallery, and to beg you to reconsider. Over this past year, Ms. Suparak's work has repeatedly and gloriously brought me face-to-face with actual works of art—in Syracuse!

I am an MFA student in Creative Writing at SU. I have lived here for two years, yet I am continually amazed at the artlessness of this town. Last year, it seemed that things were improving. The advent of Th3—a monthly, community-wide night of art—and, especially, the rise of the Warehouse Gallery, gave me reason to hope. Astria's work there has been nothing short of miraculous. I moved to Syracuse from New York, where I attended multiple gallery openings every week, and the Warehouse is the only gallery in Syracuse I would put on the same block with them. This is a metaphorical block. Forgive me—I've been studying creative writing for too long.

The work she chooses to display, if I may generalize, is both challenging and welcoming—a rare, wonderful combination. The example that comes first to mind is the recent exhibit "Come On: Desire Under the Female Gaze." This show had a clear agenda—reversing the ubiquitous "male gaze" that has dominated almost all art, forever and ever. In lesser hands, it could have easily come off as a mere polemic. In Ms. Suparak's hands, it was just a great art show. The works employed a variety of techniques to make their points, but the principle technique was an overwhelming humanity. I felt like I was part of a discussion instead of an argument. Some of it was downright hilarious—who could have predicted one woman's feeling of emptiness after a tryst with the lead singer of Poison? Come on, he's in Poison.

I want to point out that I don't know Ms. Suparak personally, nor am I writing this message under any kind of duress from my friends, many of whom are similarly concerned about this situation. I am writing as myself: a reluctant Syracuse resident who needs his art.

Please rehire Ms. Suparak. I'll buy you coffee, I'll shovel your driveways all winter, anything—just please rehire her.

Sincerely,

James Gendron