The second group of censored artwork is religiously offensive art. The nineteenth-century example of religiously offensive artwork is Courbet's The Return from the Meeting (Appendix 2.1). This painting depicts “drunken cures lurching down a country road” (House 193). The work's censorship can be attributed to its mockery of religious leaders. When Courbet submitted this piece, it was rejected by both the Salon and the Salon des Refuses in 1863 (192). In addition, photographs of the work were censored because it was feared the illiterate “dangerous classes” would be influenced by its apparent message against the Catholic Church (193). This is a case in which all outlets for the paintings display were blocked by those in power. Unable to adequately exhibit his painting, Courbet was forced to sell it. Thus, another type of censorship occurred when the painting was purchased by a Catholic in 1900 and subsequently destroyed (193).
Andres Serrano's Piss Christ (Appendix 2.2) and Chris Ofili's The Holy Virgin Mary (Appendix 2.3) are examples of modern artwork that have been censored due to religious obscenity. Andres Serrano's Piss Christ is a photograph of a plastic Jesus Crucifix in a jar of urine (Dubin 96). The artwork did not elicit a public response until it was discovered that his exhibition of photographs was partially-funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), a government agency dedicated to “enrich[ing] our Nation …by supporting works of artistic excellence, advancing learning in the arts, and strengthening the arts in communities throughout the country” (NEA). Congress, led by Jesse Helms, punished the NEA for its role in the creation of “obscene” or “offensive” pieces of art by “cutting funding by $45,000” (Dubin 100).
Chris Ofili's The Holy Virgin Mary is another modern example of censored artwork that faced scrutiny for being religiously offensive. The Holy Virgin Mary depicts the Virgin Mary as a black woman “spotted with small cutouts from pornographic magazines and with carefully placed, lacquered dung, perhaps a representation of the Virgin as sacred and profane” (Becker 18). The Brooklyn Museum of Art's exhibition called Sensation was controversial even before the exhibition opened. As the public discovered the content of the future exhibition, protests erupted in support of either “religious conservatives and their right-winged political representatives [or] morally suspect artists promoted by elite liberals in the art world” (Rothfield 1). Deeming the Holy Virgin Mary “anti-Catholic,” New York City Mayor, Rudy Giuliani threatened to cut the museum's funding and eject the institution from its building (NCAC). Before the Mayor could destroy the “least elitist of New York cultural institutions,” a federal court reaffirmed the museum's right to free speech and funding (Becker 15). The exhibit finally opened to the public so that they could decide for themselves whether the works were obscene or not. Dennis Heiner, “a seventy-two-year-old devout Catholic,” decided that the public should not have the right to view the painting and covered it with white paint (15). Both Rudy Giuliani and Dennis Heiner attempted to employ censorship to suppress an image that they personally believed to be obscene. Thus, the modern individual, from the politically powerful to the regular citizen, has the power to censor artwork.
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KaleidoscopeArt Behind Closed Doors
Andres Serrano's Piss Christ (Appendix 2.2) and Chris Ofili's The Holy Virgin Mary (Appendix 2.3) are examples of modern artwork that have been censored due to religious obscenity. Andres Serrano's Piss Christ is a photograph of a plastic Jesus Crucifix in a jar of urine (Dubin 96). The artwork did not elicit a public response until it was discovered that his exhibition of photographs was partially-funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), a government agency dedicated to “enrich[ing] our Nation …by supporting works of artistic excellence, advancing learning in the arts, and strengthening the arts in communities throughout the country” (NEA). Congress, led by Jesse Helms, punished the NEA for its role in the creation of “obscene” or “offensive” pieces of art by “cutting funding by $45,000” (Dubin 100).
Chris Ofili's The Holy Virgin Mary is another modern example of censored artwork that faced scrutiny for being religiously offensive. The Holy Virgin Mary depicts the Virgin Mary as a black woman “spotted with small cutouts from pornographic magazines and with carefully placed, lacquered dung, perhaps a representation of the Virgin as sacred and profane” (Becker 18). The Brooklyn Museum of Art's exhibition called Sensation was controversial even before the exhibition opened. As the public discovered the content of the future exhibition, protests erupted in support of either “religious conservatives and their right-winged political representatives [or] morally suspect artists promoted by elite liberals in the art world” (Rothfield 1). Deeming the Holy Virgin Mary “anti-Catholic,” New York City Mayor, Rudy Giuliani threatened to cut the museum's funding and eject the institution from its building (NCAC). Before the Mayor could destroy the “least elitist of New York cultural institutions,” a federal court reaffirmed the museum's right to free speech and funding (Becker 15). The exhibit finally opened to the public so that they could decide for themselves whether the works were obscene or not. Dennis Heiner, “a seventy-two-year-old devout Catholic,” decided that the public should not have the right to view the painting and covered it with white paint (15). Both Rudy Giuliani and Dennis Heiner attempted to employ censorship to suppress an image that they personally believed to be obscene. Thus, the modern individual, from the politically powerful to the regular citizen, has the power to censor artwork.
Read full article here.
KaleidoscopeArt Behind Closed Doors
