I read Ed Sozanski’s harping review about “A Happening Place” in today’s Inquirer and was stunned. (See Libby’s much better blog post of May 23 — or my summer round-up feature in the May 21 Philadelphia Weekly for more.) Sozanski’s bitch is that the show is self-congratulatory and not art-historical enough. I want to know what’s wrong with a little bit of self congratulation by a community art organization that’s still going strong after 40 years. As for art history, the show celebrates some of Philadelphia’s own (little known) art history — and who else is doing that, pray tell.
In addition, the installation’s superb, the art looks wonderful, the documentation does what it’s supposed to do. How can you complain?
When a community art center (this is not a museum we’re talking about) wants to celebrate its history and do so with a swell exhibit, it’s about empowering themselves for the future. Maybe Mr. Sozanski doesn’t care about that but I do. The future of the Philadelphia art scene depends on the community venues — not the museums which tend to overlook and not support the locals. But that’s another story.
