Slog
News & ArtsWednesday, December 1, 2010
Visual Art And on World AIDS Day, A Gay Portraiture Show Is Censored in D.C.
Posted by Jen Graves on Wed, Dec 1, 2010 at 3:10 PM
The Smithsonian Institution has suddenly yanked David Wojnarowicz's video Fire in My Belly from the celebrated gay portraiture show Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture.
The Smithsonian is responding to pressure from the Catholic church and two powerful Republicans, presumptive House Speaker Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) and No. 2 House Republican Eric Cantor, reports The Washington Post and Modern Art Notes.
This is insane. The church objects to a segment of the video with ants crawling on a crucifix. If the church objects to violent imagery, it will have to banish half the art ever made—and several pieces I saw just this morning in Seattle Art Museum's European galleries.
And when Republicans begin pressuring art shows, it's Mapplethorpe all over again, people.
The Smithsonian must return the video to its galleries, and, as MAN argues, other museums should begin showing it like crazy in solidarity.
Lying down didn't work last time the Republicans declared war on art—remember?—and it won't work this time.
Remember.
UPDATE: Kriston Capps reports the mystery of what actually happened: "Was the Smithsonian Institution spooked by a couple of comments flacks gave to CNS?"
And Capps has also got a rousing pep-talk for art against the dumb GOP. I'm not feeling so confident, but I love reading KC as always.
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
Hating People Doesn't Make Them Thinner by Jen Graves
-
Los Angeles Gay Bar Bans Bachelorette Parties Until Marriage Equality Is Attained by David Schmader
-
Fill in the Blank by Grant Brissey
-
This Reminds Me of the Great Calculator Scare of the Late '70s/Early '80s by David Schmader
-
Idiot Tries to Defend Bigoted Anti-Gay-Marriage Preacher on Anderson Cooper by Paul Constant
-
Six Moms with Too Much Time on Their Hands and a Shitty Website Decide to Fight Gay Superheroes by Paul Constant
-
What the Hell Is Wrong With Seattle's Pride Parade? by Dominic Holden
-
The Saturday Morning News by Unpaid Intern
-
Why Mayor McGinn's Wife Canceled Her Family's Seattle Times Subscription by Eli Sanders
-
NYC Man Ticketed for Not Riding in the Bike Lane by Jonathan Golob
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (2) RSS