Nipple Slip: MOCA DC to Leave Georgetown Over Pasties
Georgetown has never been known for its eroticism. But in the brick courtyard of Canal Square—an upscale piece of real estate nestled between M Street NW and the C&O Canal—gallery owner David Quammen, 70, has carved out a space for the risqué. Since 2005, Quammen’s MOCA DC has exposed Georgetown passersby to paintings of childbirth, photographs of Playboy Bunnies, and sketches of Quammen’s own nude body, all via the gallery’s 12-foot-long front window.
But next month, the gallery may very well shutter its doors over a pair of nipple pasties. Why now? The modesty-preserving devices appeared on the breasts of a live woman, not in a work of art. “I think that having live nudity at an opening reception is akin to having it on the wall,” Quammen says. “But a lot of people don’t like what I do.”
Quammen has never figured out how to move very many nudes in Georgetown. So over the years, he’s learned to supplement his exhibitions with exhibitionism. Three times a year, the gallery hosts opening receptions for shows of figural art: “Erotica” in March, “The Celebration of the Figure” in July, and “Heads or Tails: Fine Art Portraits and Tasteful Backsides” in November. In the gallery’s front room, Quammen displays works by local artists. In the back, he conducts live erotic events.
MOCA’s rear room has hosted belly dancers, swimsuit competitions, walk-in body painting (one memorable human canvas had the words “Warning: Choking Hazard” painted on his sizable stomach, complete with an arrow pointing to his penis), live nude statues, and even Playboy model Angelina Leigh, who’s posed naked for photos on a MOCA rug. Quammen keeps the party lubricated with six flavors of boxed wine.
Quammen’s openings have survived by keeping the business in the front and the party in the back. But MOCA’s parties—which can draw hundreds—can’t always be contained.
On March 5, Quammen celebrated the opening of his “Erotica 2010” exhibit by staging a burlesque competition hosted by local strip-tease star Kitty Victorian. During the performance, participants and gawkers were confined to the gallery’s modest rear room, where their activities were shielded from unsuspecting Georgetown bar-goers. But at some point in the evening, one of the amateur competitors managed to wander out into the open-air courtyard wearing little more than a pair of strategically-placed tassels.
Soon, Quammen got wind of some corporate backlash from the courtyard display. Beyond MOCA DC, Canal Square also hosts a few more traditional art galleries, Sea Catch restaurant, and the offices for R B Properties Inc., the real estate management company which rents Quammen his gallery. On March 10, Quammen drafted a letter to Ted Vogel, vice president of real estate for R B Properties, in an attempt to preempt any pastie-based concern. “I understand...that there was a complaint about one of the performers last Friday night going outside without proper clothing,” Quammen wrote. “While she was not nude, her attire was improper and not authorized to be anywhere but the rear portion of the gallery.” Quammen promised to rectify the situation by installing a guard at the gallery’s front entrance to help herd scantily clad attendees toward the rear.
On April 7, R B Properties replied to Quammen’s letter with a list of administrative complaints. “While you recognized the inappropriate attire worn by MOCA participants on March 5th, there were other issues that we find unacceptable that were not addressed in your letter,” the response read. Beyond the pasties, the MOCA party represented an “unauthorized use of the plaza area.” Some MOCA patrons had also utilized the Sea Catch restrooms, which proved “very disruptive to the restaurant’s business” that night.
“We look forward to many well-managed events by MOCA...and appreciate your cooperation and attention for years to come,” the letter finished.
That was before R B Properties discovered it wasn’t stuck with MOCA for the long haul. This summer, Quammen learned that MOCA’s lease with R B Properties—which Quammen had overseen for the gallery’s former director, painter Michael Clark, since 2005—had been a month-to-month arrangement all along. So Quammen approached the company to negotiate a long-term lease in his own name. He got his reply last month, when Vogel arrived at the gallery to tour the space with a new potential renter. On June 24, R B Properties gave Quammen a notice to vacate the premises by July 31. Calls to R B Properties were not returned.
Quammen is convinced that prudishness is to blame: “For being a liberal city, there’s a lot of conservatism here,” he says. After all, R B Properties hasn’t always been leasing to an “adult” gallery. For more than a decade, Clark had run MOCA DC with a focus on contemporary art, with the occasional phallic piece. The nudity began in earnest in 2002, when Quammen established his Figure Models Guild to connect local artists with nude models. Since assuming director duties in 2005, Quammen has heard plenty of snide dismissals of the gallery’s increasingly disrobed offerings. Of the Canal Square galleries, “MOCA is the pig of the bunch,” says Quammen. But for nearly six years, he scraped up enough rent to make sure it stays that way. “Eroticism is the carrot that God gave us for going ahead with this thing, having some children, and raising them,” he says.
So when Quammen received his notice to leave the space, he sent out a call to the gallery’s 1,400 member contact list, asking them to help the gallery keep doling out carrots. Last week, Quammen held a meeting in the gallery to discuss MOCA’s future. Unlike his erotic displays, the administrative event was “short on attendance,” Quammen says; one friend stopped by the space, and a few more participated via live-streaming Internet video.
Meanwhile, Quammen’s own body threatens to fail him. He wears a black eye patch over his right eye to mitigate a childhood injury; recently, his left started going, too. Over the past two years, he’s fought both prostate and colon cancer into remission. After two heart surgeries, walking a block leaves him winded. “Even with that, I have managed to do more than many half my age,” Quammen wrote in a letter to R B Properties. He’s now seeking out more expensive locations in Arlington and Dupont Circle. He hopes to supplement the price hike with a PBS-style pledge drive. How many are willing to pay a monthly fee for Quammen’s previously gratis events remains to be seen.
The July 31 quit date will, at least, provide Quammen an excuse to throw a party. “As far as the artwork is concerned, I’ll make a statement. I’m going to put the most brazen things out front I can find,” Quammen says. But he remains dedicated to keeping the live demonstration under wraps. “I’m going to respect the right of people, who are coming into the courtyard for other reasons, not to have somebody shove nudity in their face,” says Quammen. He will, instead, use his own face as the scene of the protest: In place of the eye patch, Quammen plans to affix a nipple tassel over his right eye.
Photo by Darrow Montgomery
11:48 am
Wow. I've never had an opportunity to run across this gallery, but will make a point to go there before it moves. Also, he might look at H St., near the Atlas theatre or a block over on Florida Ave. where 2 other galleries have opened. Good luck!
1:45 pm
...Georgetown is a liberal city? Who knew?
4:53 pm
I CANNOT BELIVE SUCH ARTICLE HAS BEING WRITTEN ABOUT MR QUAMMEN'S ,AS AN ART DIRECTOR /OWNER/MOCADC'S .IT MAKES HIM LOOK CHEAP AND ALOOF ,COMPLETELY OUT OF CHARACTER FROM THE PERSON WE ALL KNOW, GEORGETOWN'S ART GALLERY GAZE ,CLIENTS AND ART PLACE LOVERS AND PROFESSIONALS AS WELL.I PERSONALLY I AM SICK ABOUT ARTICLES AS HERS .I COULD THINK OF SOME OTHERS IN TOWN WHO ARE MANY TIMES BIGOTS CONPER TO HIM . W KNOW HE IS A VERY INTELLIGENT MAN AND WILL SUCCED TO ANY THING HE SETS HIS MIND TO IT .I AM SURE HE WILL.TOO BAD AMANDA YOU ARE A SOUR PUSS.
5:51 pm
David is a lot more than nudity , he is an open door for new artist.
7:28 pm
sadly, I'm not surprised, seeing as Georgetown vetoed having a Metro stop back in the day because they were afraid of being too accessible to "the wrong element." Stay classy, Georgetown.
9:05 pm
I first met David Quammen when he was modelling for an art class at The Catholic University of America in 2003. He has always been one of the friendliest, most professional men I have ever known. In the time that I have known him- and the years that I have visited his MOCA DC studio- I have watched him almost literally break his back to provide a service for models and artists that would, if not for his efforts, cost hundreds of dollars more for everyone seeking to practice modelling the human form, and I have never, ever known him to put mere prurience over art. For him, the latter has always been a means of funding the former, and never the other way around.
It bothers me greatly to see one of the finest men living in Georgetown treated so shabbily, especially right when he needs assistance the most. Unfortunately, however, it does not surprise me. In times of hardship, it is too often the rich who stay in the lifeboat while the deserving get thrown over the side.
Sincerely,
Michael B. English
7:13 am
@Mrs, J Salgado, I really don't think that Amanda was trying to cast Mr. Quammen in a bad light. As a matter of fact, I believe that she was actually painting Georgetown as the bad guy. For folks like me who didn't know that his art gallery existed, this write up on Mr. Quammen sheds light on a jewel that might not be available soon. I would like to appreciate his work and will find a way to get to his gallery before July 31.
Thanks, Amanda, for letting the ignorant like me know that this gem exists.
10:48 am
TJ. GET A LIFE,MR. QUAMEN,IS REALLY MORE THAN GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY ,HE IS REALLY PICKING UP WHERE MOST PEOPLE LEAVE ,I CAN GO ON AND ON TO HER WHOLE ARTICLE ,SHE IS THE ONE WHO IS A SEXIST,HER ARTICLE LAKED LIGHT NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
2:28 pm
Used to have fun at MOCA back when Clark ran it. Had work in a few of the shows back then. Too bad the property owner's such a wanker.
3:42 pm
Mrs, J Salgado, I need you to relax. I didn't say that Amanda DIDN'T leave anything out. I actually don't know if she did or not because I've never heard of this man or his gallery.
If you feel that there is more for her to add, then that's fine. I'm sure that he is a multi-dimensional man, as most artists are. But I would have to disagree that she painted Mr. Quammen as "cheap and aloof."
And since you think so highly of Mr. Quammen, I would think that he would appreciate if you spelled his name correctly.
10:06 am
TY; IF I GO TO MOCADC,AT ANY TIME ,PLEASE DONT TALK TO ME ,NOT INTERESTED .
1:18 pm
xenu01
thats not true at all, and its a bigoted statement.
11:07 pm
THAT WAS A WONDERFUL NIGHT!!!!!
I would like to say that i was there that night...with several beautiful woman in tow, the show was entertaining,jovial, and definitely tasteful. I am happy to call Dave a friend, and i admire him and think he provides a crucial part for our collective sanity...helps keep us grounded and from becoming tooooo uptight!!! Not that this city is known for its liberalism, but we always need balance, and to remember our fundamental rights as Americans!!!as humans... I definitely was not offended by her nipple tassel, in fact, it reminded me of how wonderful and life giving a woman's breasts actually are...
its 2010.. this seems so trivial to me that... Dave offered to comply and remedy the problem...(?) He at least deserves for them to provide an explanation! if not a lease! And if anyone is planning on a petition...please count me in...and i will see you at the closing night of MOCA erotica..hopefully some of my questionably risqué' art will be on display...i had full intentions of requesting to have my first solo show at MOCA next year....every end is just a new beginning!!!...THANK YOU DAVE FOR BEING YOU... JESSE MINE / MULTIMEDIA ARTIST
2:01 pm
Mrs J Salgado, I'm assuming that through all your typos you were writing to me (it's TJ, not TY... I didn't see anyone else's name get close to what you typed as a name). If so, you don't have to worry about me talking to you... not only do I not know what you look like (and that makes a big difference in if I even look in your direction), but unless you are a "MRS" to another woman looking for a third woman to join you in the bedroom, you don't have to worry about me. I don't get down with straight chicks...
And Lord, if you talk anywhere near as well as you type...
1:11 pm
TJ; LEARN TO SPEAK ENGLISH.NO
9:41 pm
Mrs Salgado, you're telling people to learn to speak English? Your own comments are such a mess, I'm not even sure whose side you're on. You also seem to love picking a fight where there isn't one.
9:17 am
MR, KOSCIENSZA; .DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR OPINION ,I AM PERFECT AND I PLAN TO STAY THIS WAY. PEOPLE LIKE ME AND MY ANCESTORS MADE THIS NATION FREE , I HAVE RIGTHS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION AND WILL INDED ENFORCE THEM ,TO BAD YOU ARE ON THE SIDE OF TJ ,WHO HAS VERY LOW MORAL CHARACTER, CALLING ME NAMES ,.I FOR ONE WILL NOT HAVE IT.
10:30 am
Can someone please moderate these off topic replies that lessen the impact of this sad loss to DC's cultural tapestry.
7:53 pm
Personally, I enjoyed Amanda's article very much, as I knew I would based on previous articles she has done. In my opinion, her column is sorely needed in a society where far too many are hung up on sex in most of its manifestations. Good job, Amanda.