In Dad's Honor

Daughter of the late A. Aubrey Bodine is protective of the photography that defined -- and consumed -- her father

The museum, says director Doreen Bolger, is in no way saying A. Aubrey Bodine wasn't important. It's just that curators -- "those who have trained their whole lives in making these difficult decisions" -- didn't see his work as fitting the theme of this exhibition.

"What remains constant is that he created fine work, and thanks to his daughter, it's becoming better known, as it should be," she says. "We've had three one-person Bodine shows. ... We judge independently each time. There'll be other exhibitions."

"They have all these categories and can't find room for one measly Bodine?" his daughter counters. "To imply that he wasn't a pioneer is beyond preposterous. It's humiliating."

The dispute eventually made its way to the BMA's board of trustees, which two days after the show opened on March 16, voted unanimously to support the curator's selections.

"Will I donate another Bodine to those people?" she says. "Over my dead body.

"My father wasn't a touchy-feely man," she adds. "I can't say I have a lot of warm, fond memories of him. But if I didn't love him, I wouldn't be dedicating my life to preserving his memory and his gift to humankind. He and I are one spirit and soul."

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