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Cleveland Art Fundraiser For SubGenius Cult Mother

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bruce Perry
JOCKO DOME-O Manager / Curator
(660) 422-2019
bruce@devodude.com

August 18, 2008: The Asterisk Gallery, located in Cleveland, Ohio, is hosting a fund-raiser on Friday, August 29, 2008 for a SubGenius cult minister who acquired over $140,000 in legal costs in her ongoing struggle to regain custody of her son, after the child was taken away from her based on her religious beliefs.

Rachel Bevilacqua is a high-ranking member of the Church of the SubGenius, known far and wide as a "parody religion" that engages in satire, performance art, and comedy in a manner widely seen as a spoof of dangerous religious cults. In December of 2005, she became involved in a legal dispute regarding custody of her ten-year-old son, though she and the father of the boy had never been married. Rachel had raised her son with her husband, Steve Bevilacqua, and exercised custody from birth, with the father of the child retaining visitation rights. As with many separated couples, this agreement had been followed by each parent, until the father took steps to request sole custody of the child in December of 2005.

Domestic custody battles take place daily in the court system, but this case took a turn into strange territory on February 3, 2006, when Rachel Bevilacqua's chosen religion was introduced in the court room. Her son's father introduced photos of her performing at the annual SubGenius "X-Day" festival, including participation in an unquestionably adult-oriented parody of Mel Gibson's blockbuster movie The Passion of the Christ. In the SubGenius parody, Jesus Christ is dressed in clown makeup and carrying a cross fashioned in the shape of a dollar sign, while dozens of members of the Church of the SubGenius beat him with sexual toys and objects. This performance was enough to outrage Judge James Punch (Orleans, NY), who subsequently removed custody of Bevilacqua's son and ordered sole custody to be granted to the father.

Rachel's case soon reached the Internet, where it became a rallying cry for advocates in favor of free expression and free speech. Such popular online sites as Boing Boing and Fark spread the word far and wide, casting Bevilacqua as a victim of a legal system that apparently failed to recognize the right to engage in parody, and of a judge who, as quoted in a famous SubGenius slogan, "couldn't take a joke."

Rachel's son has never attended any SubGenius events, which are often adults-only and frequently encourage participants to engage in activities considered offensive and blasphemous to many religious beliefs.

The boy's father, Jeff Jary, was represented pro-bono by a personal friend. The ongoing court case saw numerous delaying tactics by Jary's lawyer, which resulted in the case being extended for the remainder of 2006 and the first six months of 2007, and over $140,000 in legal costs to Rachel Bevilacqua.

Following the word of this case being spread on the Internet, Judge Punch recused himself without comment. The case was re-assigned to Judge Eric R. Adams of Batavia, New York. In August of 2007, after months of delays, conflicting judicial orders, the return of Judge Punch to the custody case, and the arrest and incarceration of the father on a drunken driving charge, custody of Rachel's son was finally awarded to her.

Despite this victory, as of August of 2008 Rachel is still under a court order forbidding her from keeping any SubGenius materials in her home.

The Asterisk Gallery has volunteered to host the JOCKO DOME-O fundraiser for Rachel Bevilacqua's legal fund, on the evening of Friday, August 29th. Jocko Dome-o is a charitable event in which professional and up-and-coming artists from around the country have been invited to creatively alter their own Energy Dome —- the classic headgear made famous by new wave band DEVO, and featured in their 1980 music video Whip It. Participating artists include, but are not limited to:

Kimberly Bailey
Bradley Cahill
Sarah Doyle
Kristin Edwards (She-vo)
Laszlo Gyorki
Sharon Iglai
Robert Lara
Julie Marton
Josh Mcleod
Robert Miltenberg
Bruce Perry
Robin Reneé
Mal Rorrer
KRK Ryden
Winston Smith
Rev. Ivan Stang
Susie the Floozie
Jeff Warmouth
Byron Werner
Rev. Nickie Wild

The finished pieces will be on display at the Asterisk Gallery on August 29th, and will include a variety of styles and techniques, from paint and collage to fantastic and even utilitarian artwork. The show will run as companion to KRK Ryden’s Devonian Art Show (opening on the same day). Displayed pieces will be up for sale to benefit the Rachel Bevilacqua legal fund. The show hours will be 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM, and it will be one day only!

Rachel Bevilacqua's associates have begun a Web-based fundraiser to allow interested persons to donate to her legal fund. Since the site's foundation on March 10, 2007, over $7,400 has been raised for her legal costs. However, there is a long way to go, and additional donations are being sought.

For further information:

Asterisk Gallery: www.asteriskgallery.com
Jocko Dome-o: devodude.com/jocko/jockodomeo.htm
Reverend Magdalen (Rachel Bevilacqua) custody case: www.modemac.com/wiki/Reverend_Magdalen
The Church of the SubGenius: www.subgenius.com