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"Pornucopia" Gallery Owner Blows Off Jewish Neighbors
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 15, 2011
Modified Mar 15, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 15, 2011
Modified Mar 15, 2011
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A Lower East Side gallery is currently exhibiting a group show called "Pornucopia," which is obviously comprised of art inspired by pornography (NSFW?). But even though gallery owner Allegra LaViola says she's hung the less graphic work in the front (where the windows are) some local residents are mortified, and they've called the cops on her. Twice. And LaViola isn't taking it.
On March 6th, she tweeted, "The police are here again! Guess my neighbors are really annoyed by the pussy in the window, eh?" (She was referring to Duncan Hannah's painting "Jane," seen here.) The police concluded that the show violated no laws, and LaViola later tweeted, "It isn't my job to be sensitive to the community- it's my job to put on the best shows I can. blindfold the kids and leave me the hell alone."
But they have not left her alone! Miriam Katz, a teacher at the nearby Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem, tells the Post, "This is disgusting. This is absolutely unacceptable. My students are innocent children, and they walk by and shouldn't be exposed to this disgrace. This is pornography. You see in quite detail the anatomy of women. There's a yeshiva there with boys who pass by every day."
And another teacher at a nearby synagogue says, "I don't know what this world is becoming." Ooh, we know: It's becoming a world where reactionary religious types forget that they're living in a cosmopolitan city with a vibrant art scene, not some isolated Siberian shtetl (or South Williamsburg). And yes, we've seen this movie before; last February an art gallery in Greenwich Village was forced to discontinue a live performance installation featuring a naked woman in the front window.
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Lower East Side
Porn
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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