Neither boring or pornographic, and very colorful and healthy, ReThink Pink, a show of prints at Gallery Ü in downtown Cleveland's ArtCade 530 Euclid Ave. was a joyful hit this year. It will return next year according to gallery owner Patsy Kline. Many of the images in this show, which closed on March 11, were composed by placing or swooshing paint-wetted breasts on paper by about 100 breast bearers, including three men.

"We wanted to do a collaboration which lead to community art which lead to different causes, which lead me to the concept of doing (breast) exams with paint on your hands and creating art with a purpose," said Ms. Kline. "This is art that all women would be able to create and display with pride. Art that could be all colors — the colors that best represented the participant's personal story. My aunt died of breast cancer and this is a homage to her lovely memory."

The show was conceived after Kline and four associates decided they wanted to have a show to raise funds for a local cause. After some research they selected the northeast Ohio affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Inc. who agreed to participate.

A visitor walking into the gallery immediately encountered a set of breast prints on one sheet titled, "The Girls." Kline said: "We want to encourage all women, especially young women who may not consider their risks or who feel fearful of doing a breast self-exam, to become familiar with what their breasts normally look and feel like with the help of colorful, self-painted body prints."

A refreshing interlude it is to encounter what non-commercial, non-sexualized, natural breasts look like with multiple colors and layers of paint. Said the show's news release: "Make a statement, don't be pink, be every color, and give breast cancer the boot. Create art for your own sake and the sake of all women and men."

Kline pointed out several of the pieces and told stories about them. One image had a vibrant blue circle on one side and a breast print on the other. My first time around the gallery I wondered about this piece. Ms. Kline explained that this artist had a mastectomy of one of her breasts.

As with many women, breast size was an issue for another of the contributors when she was young. When she grew older, she was still self-conscious about her breast size. Then she had breast cancer and a mastectomy. It was then that she realized size dosen't matter at all. There are more important things in life.

Several groups got together to make their prints. Four women collaborated printing themselves all on one large piece of paper. And "ten girls who work at Phoenix Coffee all got together at someone's home and had a party. They set up a paint station in a bedroom where each of them could do their prints in privacy, while the rest dined on hors d'oeuvres and drank wine in the adjoining room," said Kline. "They came to me with their prints and told about their party. I said, 'What? You had a party (to make such personal prints)!' I never thought about having a party to do this!"

At first they were going to limit entries to people 18 years old and up. Then a mother approached who wanted to include her 16-year-old daughter. Eventually several mothers teamed up to produce prints with their daughters. "Quite a few children where at the opening," said Kline.

The majority of people who submitted a print were affected by breast cancer in one way or another, either knowing someone that has had the disease or had it themselves. Some of the prints showed exactly where they found a lump in their breast. "They wanted people know where to look for lumps," she said. "And men can get breast cancer, too," someone said.

Tracy van der Kuil, Gallery Ü's assistant director was asked, "Doesn't the word 'pink' in 'ReThink Pink' limit you to only pink breasts?" Ms. Van der Kuil responded, "Remember the word 'rethink' is in front of 'pink.' What does that do?" Then someone nearby answered, "Open it up to more than pink."

The closing featured a showing of "Breast Crack," a video installation by Bernadette Gillota and Annetta Marion, directors of the Ohio Independent Film Festival.

"As far as I know this (a show like ReThink Pink) has not been done by any other gallery or organization anywhere," said Kline. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of prints, which were sold in a silent auction and still being tallied, are being given to the foundation. She aims to stage ReThink Pink shows in New York City, Chicago and Rotterdam Netherlands next year.

The gallery has built alliances with national and international galleries and artists such as the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts in St. Bonaventure New York; the Cleveland State University Art Gallery; the Lazzaro-Signature Gallery of Fine Art in Stoughton Wisconsin; and Robert Carroll in Rome Italy. They are also developing an international artist exchange program scheduled to start this autumn.

Along with Patsy Kline and Tracy Van der Kuil the gallery staff and ReThink Pink organizing committee included Shelly Gracon, Media Relations Assistant; Ed van der Kuil, Gallery Assistant; Mike McNamara, Exhibit Installer; and Sarah Marino, Gallery Attendant.

"Germination:Reformation," apparently another thinking and feeling show, featuring the paintings of Debra DeGregoria and Kevin Shahan, is now on view at Gallery Ü.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Lee Batdorff lbatdorff@adva.com (:divend:)