Complaints to the Orange County Board of Supervisors Tuesday about an art exhibit at John Wayne Airport that closed in December drew the ire of supervisors, who called for more scrutiny of the vetting process of art displayed in public spaces.
The piece that drew the focus of the complaints was from artist April Bey, a professor at Glendale Community College known for her work in the Afrofuturism genre, a mixed-media image of a Black woman with pineapples titled “Enter Big God’s Bed! Man’s on His Knees Giving Big God Head.”
Artist Vojislav Radovanovic, who also had work in the “Perceiving the Divine” exhibit in Terminal C from Aug. 8 through Dec. 5, defended Bey’s work.
When he was asked to join the exhibit he said he eagerly accepted.
“When she told me April will be in the show of course I was going to be in the show next to her,” Radovanovic told City News Service. “I was really happy to be part of it… It was amazing… I’m a big fan of her work.”
Radovanovic said Bey is a rising star in the art world.
“She’s also a very famous artist right now; she’s one of the leading artists of the day,” he said.
Radovanovic said Afrofuturism is meant to portray a Utopian view of the future for Black people.
Tamiko Anderson said she was “really appalled by the title,” adding that it “not only degrades faith, but offends the African race.”
Anderson said, “There needs to be increased accountability to make sure this never happens again.”
Brenda Lebsack, a member of the Santa Ana Unified School District Governing Board, said she came upon the exhibit when she was killing time during a flight delay at the airport.
“I anticipated the exhibit would honor faith traditions and shared values that uplift and inspire, especially during the holidays,” she said. “Unfortunately, what I encountered was just the opposite… Culture should never be used as a vehicle to disguise blasphemy…”
Bishop Gale Oliver Jr., pastor of the Greater Light Family Church, said, “members of the Black faith community were shocked and deeply offended” by Bey’s artwork.
“Our community felt betrayed by what was allowed to remain on display for months without intervention,” Oliver said.
Supervisor Katrina Foley, whose Fifth District includes the airport, said tit was the “first time I’ve heard about this and I’m deeply concerned, so thank you for bringing this to our attention.
“This is surprising to me,” Foley said. “I would never have supported what you are describing in our public government spaces. I can assure you that as the representative for the airport I am deeply concerned and will be talking to the (the county’s arts) commission and the airport director about what steps we need to take to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again.”
Supervisor Don Wagner said, “I believe it was never approved by the commission, which is part of the problem. There needs to be more oversight. How it got up remains to be seen.”
After the meeting, Foley told City News Service she viewed an image of the art piece and said the title was the “problematic” part of it.
“We have to be a little more discerning,” about art in public places, Foley said. “We want to showcase artists and promote art, but we have to be sensitive. The airport draws so many different kinds of people and we don’t want to have something that’s offensive to someone.”
Bey did not immediately respond to requests for comment.