J. John Priola
Bouquet, 2021

archival pigment print, framed edition of 1, plus 1 EP
35”H x 50”W

ARTWORK STATEMENT:

Winter, 1979, the all-boys Jesuit high school I attended brought me to San Francisco as part of a mini course, studying subcultures within the city. I saw the vibrant shimmering breadth of the communities here and was awakened, seeing my world in an entirely new light. I’d found a place where I fit in, no longer feeling like the odd one out. In 1985, I returned to San Francisco for graduate school and found the multicultural world I saw as a teenager was now mine to live. I identified, recognized my fears, and found inspiration - my own “cosmic dancer” moment. I’ve reveled in this rich, complicated place where many of us come to survive the deluges of oppression/repression/suppression - sometimes experiencing them instead. In manifesting and realizing Bouquet, I asked over 49 organizations, institutions, and individuals to make flowers that represented their cultures and communities. The project was conceived during 2020, so inevitably there were many who never replied to my numerous emails and phone calls—non-profits, community, and cultural organizations staff are stretched thin and working tirelessly during this challenging era. These newly formed relationships taught me about communities and individuals negotiating how to come together in this particular moment in time. This bouquet holds so much more than metaphors and symbols, it holds love, hope, the creative zeitgeist of identifying, making, craft, and beauty. I was able to collaborate with so many extraordinary, wonderful, lovely human beings. This is my contribution 

The flowers: Alliance Française | Artist: Cécile Chalouni APOP Kaululehua Hawaiian Cultural Center | Artist: Kawika Alfiche, Kumu Hula Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center | Artist: Sammay Dizon Au Co Vietnamese Cultural Center / Southeast Asian Arts and Culture Coalition | Artist: Hoa Du Bayview Opera House | Artist: Cook Beach Blanket Babylon | Artist: Glenda Glayzer Calle 24 | Artist: Natalie Aleman Chinese Cultural Center | Artist: Yan Shao Friendship House | Artists: Dauwila Harrison, Contracts & Compliance Manager, Navajo/Pomo/Paiute, and Summer Harrison-Little Cloud, Pomo/Paiute/Navajo/Yankton Goethe-Institut San Francisco | Artists: Bettina Wodianka, Cultural Program Curator, Noemie Njangiru, Astrid Kraft Alonzo Imperial Council of San Francisco | Artists: Bill Buckley, Reigning Emperor, and Mimi Osa, Reigning Empress Japanese Cultural and Community Center | Artists: Stephanie Doi, Development Manager, and Elena Nielsn, Membership Coordinator Korean Center inc. | Artist: Sarah Kim-Lee Museo Italo Americano | Artist: Selena Squarzanti Pakistani American Community Center | Artist: Muneeba Zeeshan, President, Trustee Rainbow Honor Walk | Artist: Donna Sachet, First Lady of the Castro, and President of Board of Directors SOMA Pilipinas Cultural Heritage | Artists: Lolita, Ofelia, Zeny, Cecilia, Auring, Nanita, Natividad, Elmira, Virginia, Maria, Emelita, Tetet The San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, The official band of San Francisco! | Artist: Scott G. Shelp, Director-At-Large The Transgender District | Artist: Juniper Yun, Program Assistant (she/they) The Women’s Building | Artists: April Martin, and Carey Lamprecht United Irish Cultural Center | Artist: Jennifer Drennan, Librarian

Artist Bio:

J. John Priola is a contemporary visual artist using photography. First gaining recognition at Fraenkel Gallery, numerous solo exhibitions at Anglim Gilbert Gallery, now Anglim/Trimble Gallery. His work is known for refined print quality, installation, and presentation. Major exhibitions: In A Different Light, University Art Museum, Berkeley, and Prospect ’96, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Germany. Museum collections include Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, and SFMOMA.