Franke James goes to Washington
The artist is fighting for free expression in Canada by buying ad space in Washington
Franke James is about to do the very thing she says the government tried two years ago to prevent: take her art and message abroad.
Tuesday the Toronto artist and activist is leaving for Washington, D.C., armed with her signature protest art, this time taking aim at the tarsands and the Canadian government’s position on the Keystone XL pipeline.
The original artwork, which will be showcased as six different bus-stop advertisements, combines James’ passion for art, environmental issues and concerns over the state of freedom of expression in Canada.
The three ideas, for her, have become intertwined.
But it might not be what the government expected from James.
Back in the summer of 2011, James was supposed to take her art on a European tour until — inexplicably — the government funding was cut.
To find out why, James filed a request under the Access to Information Act.
In return, she received a telling quote from a government spokesperson: “The artists’ work dealt mostly with climate change, and was advocating a message that was contrary to the government’s policies on the subject.”
Last spring, James used her art to turn the information she gleaned from the government into a book about censorship
James took that quote and created an ad campaign around it, launching it on a bus stop near Parliament Hill with the warning: “Do not talk about climate change. It is against government policy.”
Afull-size copy of the ad — the billboard space she bought was only metres from Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office — is prominently displayed on the wall by her dining room.
It’s a constant reminder of her experience with government censorship of her work.
Last spring, James used her art to turn the information she gleaned from the government into a book, Banned on the Hill: A True Story about Dirty Oil and Government Censorship.
But the story doesn’t end there and James is continuing to use art to get back at the government and to advocate for the environment.
“I’m really trying to tell basic truths,” she said.
James is now experimenting with those messages: will the government pay more attention if Stephen Harper, reimagined as an oil barrel with the words “Canada is the dirty old man” above him,” is steps away from Capitol Hill instead of Parliament Hill?
She isn’t entirely sure, but she was careful not to announce details of the trip until it was set in stone. Simply put, she said, “I don’t want to have interference.”
In the lead up to the trip, dozens of copies of her work are open in various tabs on her computer, and a couple pieces litter the floor.
Her dining room table is a clutter of books, art and stickers touting the same environmental messages.
In a colourful, patterned dress and bright blue necklace, speaking animatedly about her work, James is as colourful and vivacious as the art she creates.
“From the time I was a little girl I knew I was going to be an artist,” she said.
But what brought her here, what turned her work political was “a twist of fate.”
It was at an art show, designed by James more than a decade ago to be featured on billboards across the country, where she first experienced censorship: her own.
The advertising company asked her to change her piece, a multicoloured work that showed a female backside. Too provocative, they said.
Rather than give up the show, James replaced it with an entirely red piece she called “red orchid” but internally she felt it was “red fury.”
“I chose to keep my mouth shut and not speak up about the censorship,” she said. “It was a lesson for me.”
But now, Washingtonians will get a taste of James’ special brand of speaking up. The ads will be displayed in the city until the end of November; one is already in place, two more by next week.
They’re all James’ design: simple, eye-catching, but the questions, she admits, are tough.
One poster asks: if polluters aren’t taxed, who pays to clean up the mess? Is it future generations?
“They’re hard questions. . .but presented in a way that’s non-threatening and is engaging for people,” James said.