A 16-year old Mill River Union High School student's controversial art project will go on display Friday at Rutland’s Chaffee Art Center, getting a public showing after all.
School officials ordered Lea-Or Toot Zarfati-Eirmann's photographs taken down from a year-end showcase, citing students complaints that the images were offensive.
But anger about Mill River's perceived censorship has given the artist a larger platform and raised questions about the school’s decision making.
Zarfati-Eirmann grew up in Pawlet. She said her unusual name is a mashup of her parents' Israeli and German heritage.
Most people, she said, just call her Tooti.
The controversy at the heart of this story centers on a hobby she incorporated into her final high school art project.
It's called Shibari, a Japanese word that means "to tie decoratively."
To demonstrate, she slowly and methodically looped bright blue rope this way and that way around her torso, twisting and tightening.
"This design is called 'the pentagon,' and it just makes this little star shape on your body," she said.
Zarfati-Eirmann said she came across the practice by accident while researching knots. She likes puzzles and working with her hands, and she said creating intricate patterns with rope is relaxing.
“It’s something that I do whenever I’m bored,” she said. "My mom's walked into my room at 10 at night and I'll just be sitting there with a piece of rope, messing around, and she'll just be 'Okay, whatever, have fun.'"
Last fall, the Mill River senior had to come up with a project for her AP art class. It was something that would be submitted to the college board and something she was expected to work on all year.
She wanted to make a project that would stand out, she said. "So, I went with the Shibari because it's very artistic, and to me, and it's so beautiful and intricate that I just thought it would be wonderful for this kind of project."
Her friends — boys as well as girls — agreed to be models. They dressed in black and allowed Zarfati-Eirmann to tie them up with colorful ropes in order to be photographed.
Her final project is made up of twelve evocative images. One that's especially eye-catching is of a young woman's arms.
"It's one of my favorites," Zarfati-Eirmann said.
You don't see the model's face – just her arms tightly bound across her chest in bright green rope.
But if you Google "Shibari," you'll find it's closely linked to sexual bondage, which is why the project has raised eyebrows.
Zarfati-Eirmann said that, to her, rope tying isn't sexual. Rather, she wanted to use it artistically to bring attention to the fact that many people – especially women – feel restrained all the time.
"You know, I just want people to start thinking about the limits society puts on us, and where their limits are, and either if they want to push them and how they could push them and if it was appropriate to push them," she said.
The teen said her art teacher, Jonathan Taylor, and school officials signed off on the project at the start of the school year.
Taylor didn't respond to a request for an interview.
Zarfati-Eirmann added that many of her photos had been on display in the art room for months.
Todd Finn, who was principal of Mill River until moving to Maine late in the school year, supported her work.
"She explained to me about the Japanese art of knot tying, and she spoke to me about it symbolically as an artist," Finn said. "And you know, I was almost moved to tears when she expressed what she wanted to do, and I said, 'Go for it, let's do this!'"
But Tyler Weideman, the school's current principal, ordered the photos taken down.
"I have 12-year-olds in the building, and with that respect, I don't want to discount Tooti's work at all," Weideman said. "I think her work is awesome and it's fantastic. But it's just not an appropriate venue for that young of a child to see those pictures."
He said students had complained that they didn't like seeing other students tied up. The display had been near the nurse's office, and Weideman said he worried it might disturb vulnerable students seeking help.
In an email, Superintendent Dave Younce said he stood by Weideman's decision. He said it was within the scope of district policy and the school handbook.
Zarfati-Eirmann said she was devastated by the decision.
When she removed her photos from the school showcase, she hung up a consent form for people who wanted to see her work. She said more than 50 teachers and students signed it. She also added an addendum to her artist statement, which explained the purpose of her photos.
It read in part, "Ironically my work representing the restrictions of society has been restricted itself. I apologize that art is no longer something to spark discussions and challenge the mind."
Zohara Zarfati, Tooti's mother, said that she and her daughter met with Weideman just before graduation. She added that Weideman left it up to them to find a different venue for her daughter's school project.
"I just want people to start thinking about the limits society puts on us and where their limits are ... " — Tooti Zarfati-Eirmann, 16-year-old artist
Zarfati felt it was a cop out.
"You know, somebody might choose to think that her art is inappropriate and that's OK," she said.
She added that if Mill River wanted to become a hub for art and music education, school officials can't shy away from debate.
"Especially," she said, "with subjects that are uncomfortable, with talking about gender identity, we're talking about color of skin, we're talking about what kind of bathroom, we're talking about, you know, what to do, you know, how to present yourself in society."
The Chaffee Art Center in Rutland will showcase Zarfati-Eirmann's photographs in a special exhibit that opens Friday. Gallery officials said a local artist paid for the teenager's membership, and her photos will kick off a year of student art at the Chaffee.
Correction 10:50 a.m. 06/26/2019 An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to a consent form the artist hung up as a petition and also misspelled the town of Pawlet.
