Omar Vizquel's art exhibit: a nice catch for the Butler

Omar Vizquel's art exhibit:a nice catch for the Butler
EDITOR:
I write in response to a June 4 letter to the editor questioning the decision by the Butler Institute of American Art to exhibit the work of Omar Vizquel.
First of all, I was deeply offended by the writer's comment that Vizquel "is not even American." Does the letter writer not consider that naturalized Americans are citizens? Vizquel was indeed born in Venezuela, but is today a very proud American, who like so many other naturalized Americans such as Gov. Schwarzenegger, Henry Kissinger and thousands more contribute in so many ways to our great country.
The writer more than implies that Vizquel, by virtue of his fame as a professional baseball player, cannot be a "true artist." What a ridiculous notion. As a matter of fact, Vizquel has created art since childhood and has studied painting in his hometown of Seattle. By virtue of his travels as an athlete, he has visited the great museums and galleries of America, which he believes has broadened and improved his own art. He has surrounded himself with great art, even commissioning glass artist Dale Chihuly to create original work for his home. He is dedicated to the visual arts and committed to advancing his own painting career. I am disappointed that anyone would question the dedication and personal artistic struggles of any artist, be they celebrated people or unknown.
With regard to the Butler Institute's invitation to Vizquel to exhibit here, I can only say that he chose the Butler to present his first museum show, despite invitations from other institutions. He has long been impressed by the Butler's devotion to American art and loves the idea that the Butler does not charge admission like most other museums around the world.
Yes, the Butler sponsors fund-raising events to maintain its free admission policy, and yes, we have asked celebrities to assist us in raising funds for our free children's programs. And, yes, when we asked Vizquel to let us utilize his celebrity to raise funds for our free education programs, he could not have been more generous. In an ideal world, institutions such as the Butler would not need to worry about fund raising. Sadly, in the real world, this is not the case.
Finally, the writer is obviously not aware of the comprehensive exhibition program of the Butler that not only brings to Youngstown the greatest art from across America but also promotes local and regional art. If the writer is a practicing artist, I would invite him to enter our area artists' juried show, our mid-year summer show, the annual digital show in our Beecher Center galleries or the Salem area artist programs. I would remind him that at this very moment the Butler is also hosting five one-person shows by local artists in addition to our national program. Each year the Butler hosts more than two dozen individual exhibitions by both regional and nationally known artists.
I would add that fund-raising efforts such as the Vizquel event help make these exhibits possible.
LOUIS A. ZONA, director
Butler Institute of American Art
Youngstown
Here's how humanity canhope to reach safe ground
EDITOR:
While human-rights groups and faith-based organizations express their abhorrence at the abuse perpetrated on Iraqi prisoners, insurgent and terrorist-sponsored assaults continue to kill our troops, other Westerners, and non-Muslims as they did before the prison scandal.
Although our cultures are vastly different, there is an undeniable common denominator that has perpetuated these senseless acts. What essentially threatens all our lives in this world, the one world that we know truly exists, are the axioms and fantasies about life after death.
The hostility will never end as long as there is a bias that those obedient and faithful to their particular religion will be rewarded in an afterlife. The sordid truth is that it's time to introduce enough doubt about the possibility of an afterlife that they may think twice about flying planes into tall buildings and we might find alternatives to using our military primarily to maintain dominance over the world's resources, while using religion to justify the carnage so that politicians can avoid giving us the news that our energy-guzzling way of life is waning.
KIM KOTHEIMER
Boardman