Comments

1
I'd suggest boycotting Pioneer Place if I hadn't already long since done so just because it's a soul-sucking shopping mall. I feel sorry for poor Gabe having to explain to these knuckle-draggers that they're being rapturously paranoid.
2
Interesting conflict. On the one hand, I'd say what do you expect in a sanitized mall environment? The mall really does have an obligation to the other tenants. It's naive to think that there would be no bounds on the art you can do there.

On the other hand, he's found some interesting examples of what other stores are doing, including putting f*ck on external displays. (The "what about video games?" rationalization seems pretty weak.)

Bottom line, you leased space in a shopping mall from a company called General Growth Properties. What did you really expect from your show called "shit balloons" and "a celebration of suicide"?
3
@Blabby: Don't forget the part where the gallery was being subsidized by the mall. I bet if they were paying full rent, this wouldn't be an issue.
4
Parking lots? Shit? Suicide? All of these things come to mind when I think of malls. What's the fuss?
5
Is the show still up until the end 31'st of March??
6
Sadly Flores will probably use this to help his career in the long run. Here is the real story: Flores is not a nice man. Gabe Flores is a liar, a cunning manipulator, and a desperate alcoholic. It's actually easy to feel sorry for him considering his problems, but it doesn't excuse his behavior. Place originally started as a group project, but all of the other curators quietly left after being burned by Flores which sadly left him as the default curator. What Gabe does well is play games. He is playing the art game, and he knows just how to lie his way through it. Portland needs less of this kind of shit, and more people who genuinely love art. Do not trust him.
7
I know Gabe to be a kind and passionate individual with a tireless work ethic. It takes a hell of a lot of effort to run a gallery on your own time and from your own dime but Gabe stuck it out and put in countless hours managing, curating, promoting, documenting, doing paper work, making connections, painting, tearing down/building walls, and accommodating artists—all while coaching and challenging them to show their best work. In just four years Gabe built Place into a vital gallery space that gave a home to non-commercial, socially engaged art. As such, Place became one of the most desirable places to show at in Portland. Its mall-based location challenged non-art viewers who would never go in an art gallery while simultaneously challenging artists and artsy folks who would never set foot in a mall. Portland will be a little less interesting without his gallery in the center of town. Place was welcoming, thoughtfully open minded, and professional. Thank you to Gabe and all the folks who volunteered at Place!
8
That was a really long letter from Gabe that takes a long time to basically say, "why can't I, under the guise of "art" put anything I want to put in there?" It strikes me as the typical crybaby whine.
9
I really appreciated the way Place tackled the subject of race which is especially necessary in a city like Portland. The gallery reached me on a level no other has in recent memory, if not all time. This is sad.
10
Excellent and reasonable argument by Place gallery. GGP comes off as unprofessional and creating a double standard. If they had a problem with certain content that is on them to put that in a lease or contract. Business 101. It's like they don't understand that art is often provocative or perceived as antagonist or un-pretty.

I doubt the mall lost any business by shocked customers visiting the gallery...probably the opposite. That gallery probably brought in new customers who wouldn't go near Pioneer Place usually.

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