LIVE WORMS PROCLAMATION

 

Greetings and salutations to one and all, ‘tis I, Norton the First, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico

 

We are gracing you with our Imperial presence on this auspicious day, bearing a special proclamation:

 

Whereas, In the mid-1800s, the Paris Salon, was annually sponsored by the French government and the Academy of Fine Arts, and was a showcase of the best academic art.

 

And, whereas, In 1863 the Salon jury refused 2,217 of the 5,000 submitted works, including the works of Gustave Courbet, Édouard Manet, Camille Pissarro and Johan Jongkind.

 

And whereas, The rejected artists and their friends protested, and the protests reached Emperor Napoleon III. His Imperial Majesty, wishing to let the public judge the legitimacy of these complaints, decided that the works of art which were refused should be displayed in another part of the Palace of Industry."

 

And, whereas, This exhibition became known as The Salon des Refusés

 

And, whereas, In our modern era, San Francisco’s own DeYoung Museum called for a DeYoung Open and received 11,514 individual artworks by 6190 artists submitted, yet only 877 artworks were accepted

 

And, whereas, The venerable Live Worms Gallery is staging a Group Show featuring 50 artists whose artworks were NOT selected to exhibit in the ‘De Young Open’, the museums unprecedented nod to local artists in celebration of their 125th anniversary and inspired by the original ‘Salon Des Refusés’,  

 

Therefore, be it resolved, that we, Norton the First, by grace of God Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, in this the 160th year of our magnificent reign and 202nd year of existence, declare and proclaim this day, the 20th day of November, 2020 to be Salon de Refuses San Francisco Day and do hereby declare this notable exhibition open and call for free expression and support for the arts throughout the Empire!