A billboard company has canceled its contract to display one of photographer Suzanne Opton’s portraits of active-duty soldiers on an outdoor space in St. Paul, Minnesota, site of the Republican National Convention. Opton, a New York-based photographer, shot her “Soldiers Faces” series at Fort Drum, in New York State, between 2004 and 2005, with the permission of the soldiers and their commanders. Having exhibited the portraits in galleries around the U.S., this year Opton launched the “Soldier Billboard Project,” a program to display the images on public billboards in five U.S. cities.

One of her images was to go on display on a billboard in St. Paul last, but CBS Outdoor, which controls the space, canceled the contract. In an email sent to Opton last week, CBS Outdoor Executive Vice President of Marketing Jodi Senese wrote, “The reason we have advised you that we cannot post these as billboards is that out-of-context (neither in a museum setting or website) the images, as stand-alone highway or city billboards, appear to be deceased soldiers. The presentation in this manner could be perceived as being disrespectful to the men and women in our armed forces.”

Each portrait in Opton’s series is a close up of a soldier as he rests his face on a table.

In August, Opton’s photo of a soldier who had served 120 days in Afghanistan was displayed on a billboard in Denver, site of the Democratic Party’s convention. The Denver billboard was arranged with support from the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art. According to a press statement from Opton, other soldier billboards are planned for Houston (with help from DiverseWorks ArtSpace), Atlanta (Atlanta Contemporary Art Center) and Miami. The “Soldier Billboard Project” is supported by funding from the New York Foundation for the Arts.

“We have every intention of moving forward with our plans,” said Susan Reynolds, curator of the Billboard Project.

The nine images that make up “Soldier Billboard Project” are on view at www.soldiersface.com.

thanks Alice Arnold

More on billboards denied for anti-war content:
Minnesota ant-war video billboard
“All your arguments about (free) speech are ridiculous”
2004 – Group sues over anti-war billboard and wins (er, settles)

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2. New York City’s Struggle to Take Down Illegal Billboards
3. With billboards, cities are facing the digital decision

June 7: Panel Discussion: There Is No Media Justice Without Women (NCMR) 11:15 a.m., Free with conference admission. With moderator Jennifer Pozner, Women In Media & News (WIMN); DeAnne Cuellar, Texas Media Empowerment Project; Shireen Mitchell, Digital Sistas;and Betty Yu, Manhattan Neighborhood Network.

June 7: Film Appearance: In Our Own Voices: Youth Making Media (NCMR) 2:30 pm, Free with conference admission. Young Reel Grrrls filmmaker Sami Muilenberg interviewed me for Seattle Generation of Consolidation, a short documentary exploring the impact of media consolidation on news content and how this consolidated news affects youth as both viewers and young media makers.

June 7: Book Signing: Anne Elizabeth Moore, Unmarketable (NCMR) 4 pm, Free with conference admission. I sign all books like this: “Valued Ebay Customer, Please enjoyed this treasured read from my personal collection. It’s made me quite happy over the days / months / decades (PICK ONE) it’s been in my possession, although not quite as happy as the financial benefit of releasing it to you at this time. Perhaps it will even make its way into your permanent collection, and possibly also be read in entirety. Regardless, your support of my credit card bill / drug habit / mortgage (PICK ONE) is heartwarming. Sincerely, ______________.” Then you have to personalize it. Also, I do not limit the books that I sign to those I have written. Bring anything by!

June 8: Unmarketable Reading, FFF PPP (Arise! Bookstore) 7 p.m., Free. Co-presented by Parents for Ethical Marketing.

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