Hide/Seek Timeline: Part 2
Continued from:Hide/Seek Timeline: Part 1
December 1, 2010
- the decision to remove the David Wojnarowicz video A Fire in My Belly from the National Portrait Gallery’s “Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture” was made by Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough. Until contacted by MAN on Wednesday afternoon and as recently as Wednesday morning, the Smithsonian had maintained that the decision to pull the Wojnarowicz was made by NPG director Martin Sullivan and Richard Kurin, the Smithsonian undersecretary for art, history and culture. A source told MAN of Clough’s involvement and a Smithsonian spokesperson confirmed the account.
- “In the end, a decision like that is the Secretary’s,” Smithsonian spokesperson Linda St. Thomas told me.
- The Castle’s admission that Clough himself made the call to pull the Wojnarowicz is also the Smithsonian’s first admission the Secretary has been involved in the controversy surrounding “Hide/Seek.”
Katz, Jonathan David: On Hide/Seek
- Statement from co-curator of the National Portrait Gallery’s Hide/Seek:Difference and Desire in American Portraiture. Posted Facebook December 1, 2010 at Facebook: Support Hide/Seek
National Public Radio: Smithsonian Under Fire for Gay Portraiture Exhibit, December 1, 2010
New York Post: "Rethinking the anty-Christ", December 1, 2010
Trescott, Jacqueline, "Ant-covered Jesus video removed from Smithsonian after Catholic League complains", Washington Post, December 1, 2010; 12:00 AM.
- Officials at the National Portrait Gallery on Tuesday removed a work of video art depicting Christ with ants crawling over him after complaints from a Catholic organization and members of Congress.
- The four-minute video, created by the late artist David Wojnarowicz, had been on exhibit since Oct. 30 as part of a show on sexual difference in American portraiture.
- The piece was called "hate speech" by Catholic League president William Donohue and a misuse of taxpayer money by a spokesman for Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), the presumptive incoming House speaker.
- Officials at the museum and the Smithsonian Institution, which includes the Portrait Gallery, said they had not intended to be offensive by showing the work and removed it to better focus on the exhibit's strengths.
- "The decision wasn't caving in," said Martin E. Sullivan, the museum's director. "We don't want to shy away from anything that is controversial, but we want to focus on the museum's and this show's strengths."
- An 11-second portion of the video shows a small crucifix covered with ants. The video is included in the exhibit, "Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture."
World AIDS Day, December 1, 2010.
- See: WorldAidsDay.org
- See: WorldAidsDayCampaign.org
- See: Wikipedia: World AIDS Day
December 2, 2010
Atkins, Robert, to Queer Caucus for Art Discussion List.
- Re the situation at the National Portrait Gallery, history suggests that letters of protest to the NPG director are good, but not enough. (Directors of the Smithsonian museums are even more insulated from public pressures by layers of bureaucracy than typical museum directors.) Likewise for discussions in February at CAA etc. Given the recent elections, it is a particularly appropriate time for direct action and drawing lines in the sand about what we queers will tolerate. Consider the below a few suggestions for how to do so. Because some of what I write below involves both the exhibition and our community, perhaps curator Katz might express and discuss his preferences regarding the organization of initiatives involving the show (see NPG below):
- Consider initiatives involving the following:
- MEDIA Editorials in newspapers and general media linking this censorious act with the additional outrage of it taking place on World AIDS Day/Day Without Art. Collective action by art media editors—eg linked editorials in their pubs and general media. SOCIAL MEDIA campaigns reaching hundreds or thousands--or millions--of respondent/protesters. Pressure on editorial boards (eg Village Voice) for investigative reporting. Personal contacts to presumably sympathetic writers such as Holland Cotter to enlist their voices. Contacts/Liasing with former censorship victims—eg NEA 4, Andres Serrano—whose editorial input or statements might carry additional weight with editors.
- ORGANIZATIONS/INSTITUTIONS Where is the ACLU? National Coalition Against Censorship? Visual AIDS? CAA? PEN? Museum Associations? Every progressive gay and/or arts org?
- NPG Given how much private gay money was involved in mounting this exhibition, mightn’t the donors be interested in expressing their opposition to such censorship? Mightn’t the living artists in the exhibition be similarly interested in expressing their views? Shouldn’t the institution be pressured to account for its actions? Hold a public meeting to discuss it? Are there sympathetic Congresspeople like Jerrold Nadler who might pressure the NPG about holding such a meeting?
- PUBLIC MEETING in NYC Perhaps such a meeting needs to be prioritized asap to enable folks to step up to the plate and to receive support for doing so. Obviously, none of this will happen on its own. Nor should such organizational actions be considered part of the curator’s role.
Bell, Ford W., President, American Association of Museums. Email quoted by Trescott, December 2, below.
- The American Association of Museums, based in Washington, said the Portrait Gallery did the right thing in deciding to pull the video in question. "We concur that it should not distract from the other thoughtful and provocative work in this important exhibition. However, we regret the controversy surrounding the excellent show," said Ford W. Bell, the group's president, in an e-mail.
Roake, Jessica.The Culture Wars: What Else Is In the National Portrait Gallery's "Offensive" Gay Show? Accessed December 3, 2010 from The Awl (blog).
Transformer Gallery: to Wayne Clough, December 2, 2010
Trescptt, Jacqueline, Washington Post: "debate over museum's censorship rages", December 2, 2010
Rainbow History Project. "Statement on Censorship at the Smithsonian."
- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, December 02, 2010
- Since its founding in 2000, the Rainbow History Project has been committed to preserving the stories and memories—personal, geographical, and cultural—of the GLBT community in the greater Washington D.C. area and nationally. Those stories and memories are now under attack in the form of the Smithsonian Institution’s removal, at the behest of the Catholic League and other conservative groups, of David Wojnarowicz’s video A Fire in My Belly from the National Portrait Gallery exhibit Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture.
- That the art and activism of David Wojnarowicz, whose commitment to presenting the lived experience of those with HIV/AIDS inspired so many both before and after his death from AIDS in 1992, should be censored on World AIDS Day is doubly disturbing. The Rainbow History Project Board calls on the Smithsonian Institution to restore A Fire in My Belly to its place in the Hide/Seek exhibition and to issue an apology for its censorious actions to the Estate of David Wojnarowicz; to Jonathan D. Katz, David C. Ward, and Jenn Sichel, the curators of Hide/Seek; and to its patrons.
- We must not allow artistic expression or GLBT lives and experiences to be censored in the face of political pressure.
- Board of Directors: Philip Clark, Chair; Jeff Donohoe, Secretary; Jan Knode, Treasurer; Rebecca Dolinsky; Chuck Goldfarb; Patsy Lynch; Chris Man; Jim Marks; Kim Sescoe; Dan Vera
- Accessed December 6, 2010 from: http://www.rainbowhistory.org/
Schlinkert, Sam. Art Censorship Controversies: A Brief History [NSFW Dec 2, 2010]
Washington Post. "Editorials. Undue political pressure on a portrait gallery".
December 3, 2010
Association of Art Museum Curators: Hide/Seek Controversy, December 3, 2010
P·P·O·W and Estate of David Wojnarowicz: Response to Smithsonian, December 3, 2010
December 5, 2010
Dan Cameron: "Why David Wojnarowicz Matters", December 5, 2005
Learsy, Raymond J. "Culture Wars Return to Washington and New York." Huffington Post. Posted: December 5, 2010 11:18 AM. Learsy is a scholar and author of "Over a Barrel: Breaking Oil's Grip on Our Future".
Logan, Brian. "Hide/Seek: Too shocking for America," Guardian (London).
- These images, from America's first major exhibition of gay art, have outraged the country's right – leading to one of them being banned. Accessed December 6, 2010 from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/dec/05/hide-seek-gay-art-smithsonian
National Portrait Gallery Protest
Mike B. and Mike I.: SilenceStillEqsDeath.
- Protesters display censored art ("A Fire in My Belly" by David Wojnarowicz) inside the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, days after pressure groups and members of Congress had it removed. Both protesters were detained and banned from all Smithsonian properties for life. More action is planned -- for updates see SilenceStillEqualsDeath.blogspot.com Category: News & Politics Tags: censorship, David Wojnarowicz, fire in my belly, video, gay, AIDS, ant, ants, crucifix, cross, Smithsonian, National Portrait Gallery, Boehner, Catholic League, Donohue
New York City Meeting to Take Action Against Censorship
- Sunday, December 5, 3-5 pm. PARTICIPANT INC. 253 East Houston St. FOR INFORMATION, to join the mailing list email hunterr5930@yahoo.com or phone: (212) 966-1091
December 6, 2010
Katz, Jonathan David: "a larger issue", December 6, 2010
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/06/entertainment/la-et-new-smithsonian-20101206 Knight, Christopher. "Critic's Notebook: Smithsonian Institution fails to stand up to anti-gay bullies. Pressure groups succeed in getting a piece removed from a show about gay identity in art at the National Portrait Gallery." Los Angeles Times. December 6, 2010.]
New York Times: "Editorial: Bullying and Censorship. New York Times. Published online: December 6, 2010. Published in print on December 7, 2010, on page A32 of the New York edition.
- Excerpt:
- In an appalling act of political cowardice, the Smithsonian Institution last week removed “A Fire in My Belly,” a four-minute video clip, from an exhibit called “Hide/Seek” at the National Portrait Gallery. The privately financed show explores identity, gender and homosexuality in American portraiture.
- The video, by David Wojnarowicz, is a moving, anguished reflection on the artist’s impending death from AIDS. It shows very quick glimpses of challenging and, at times, disturbing images, including masks, a meatpacking plant, various objects on fire and the artist undressing himself.
- . . .
- The Catholic League is entitled to protest, as are members of Congress, although the bullying from Mr. Boehner’s office was chilling. Mr. Clough had a responsibility to defend this work and to reject censorship. He failed. On Monday, the Smithsonian announced that the exhibit will remain open, as planned, until Feb. 13, but without Mr. Wojnarowicz’s video. That is not remotely good enough.
Smithsonian News Release: Smithsonian Stands Firmly Behind "Hide/Seek" Exhibition
- The exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, “Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture,” which opened Oct. 30, recently sparked a great deal of controversy.
- One of the exhibition’s 105 works—a short segment in a four-minute video created as a complex metaphor for AIDS—was perceived by some to be anti-Christian. It generated a strong response from the public. We removed it from the exhibition Nov. 30 because the attention it was receiving distracted from the overall exhibition, which includes works by American artists John Singer Sargent, Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Annie Leibovitz and Georgia O’Keeffe.
- “Hide/Seek” is scheduled to continue as planned until Feb. 13.
- The museum and the Smithsonian stand firmly behind the scholarly merit and historical and artistic importance of the exhibition.
- Acknowledging that some visitors may prefer not to encounter some of the subject matter in the exhibit, the museum installed signs at both entrances, reading “This exhibition contains mature themes.”
December 7, 2010
Smithsonian Institution: Q and A Regarding the "Hide/Seek" Exhibition, December 7, 2010
December 8, 2010
ArtInfo.co. "Leaked Letter Shows Internal Tensions Over Smithsonian Censorship". December 8, 2010
- WASHINGTON, D.C.— A leaked Smithsonian letter written by National Portrait Gallery director Martin Sullivan suggests that the Washington, D.C., institution is riven by dissent over the recent decision to remove David Wojnarowicz's video "A Fire in My Belly" from the Gallery's "Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture" exhibition.
- The unpublished document, obtained exclusively by ARTINFO, offers a more conciliatory response to the public outcry over the censorship than does the official Smithsonian statement, which was released on the institution's Web site last night in the form of a Q&A. While Sullivan's memo falls short of an apology, it appears to side with critics of the removal, which was ordered by Smithsonian secretary G. Wayne Clough, as Modern Art Notes blogger Tyler Green first reported.
- In the statement, titled "Draft response to critics of the removal of 'Fire in My Belly'" dated 12/4/2010 and signed, the Gallery director acknowledges that the decision, reached while Clough was traveling outside of the capital, was made in haste and based on a misunderstanding. "I regret that the video was removed from the installation without more deliberate consideration of other possible options," Sullivan writes. The work, a four-minute meditation on the AIDS crisis, drew criticism from such right-wing critics as Republican congressmen John Boehner and Eric Cantor and Catholic League president William Donohue because of an 11-second clip of ants crawling on a crucifix. "'A Fire in My Belly' was misinterpreted as having a meaning that the artist did not intend," Sullivan writes.
- Referring to the fact that the National Portrait Gallery receives a majority of its funding from Congress, Sullivan continues: "The coming months are likely to bring closer scrutiny of federal funding programs in general as well as specifically for cultural agencies, institutions and activities. We all recognize that tough choices will be considered. As that discussion moves ahead, please continue to voice your beliefs about the central role of artistic expression in a free society." Sullivan's conclusion echoes the language of the American Association of Museum Directors' rebuke of the censorship that was released on its Web site: "The AAMD believes that freedom of expression is essential to the health and welfare of our communities and our nation."
- In the Smithsonian's very different online statement, the institution says that Clough opted to take down the video after "hearing the opinions and views of the relevant parties," including Sullivan and one of the show's two curators, David Ward. "Smithsonian officials and museum leaders are sensitive to public perceptions of the Institution’s exhibitions," the official statement continues. "In this case, they believed that the attention to this particular video imagery and the way in which it was being interpreted by many overshadowed the importance and understanding of the entire exhibition."
- As withering criticism of the censorship continues to mount from museums, artists, and art advocates across the country, the Smithsonian has struggled to maintain a united front. Today the Buffalo News quoted the show's other co-curator, art historian Jonathan David Katz, decrying the fact that he was not consulted before the work was taken down. "How incredibly stupid of the museum to rise to the bait," Katz told the paper. The leaked memo further confirms internal differences of opinion over the removal of the work.
- Contacted about the draft response, a National Portrait Gallery spokesperson said she had no knowledge of Sullivan's letter.
The Courtauld Institute of Art, Research Forum. Mezzanine Floor, East Wing, Somerset House, WC2R 0RN. London, United Kingdom. Wednesday, December 8 · 12:00pm - 1:00pm.
- Following pressure from the Catholic League president William Donahue, the Smithsonian Museum last week removed a 1987 film piece "A Fire in My Belly" by David Wojnarowicz from the National Portrait Gallery's exhibition entitled "Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture." The controversial material in focus is 11 seconds of footage from a 4 minute film featuring ants crawling over an effigy of Christ. With the threat of the withdrawal of 'public' funding from the museum, the Smithsonian's directors felt they had no option but to buckle to the hysteria of a minority of objectors. The works removal, on the eve of World AIDS day, is worryingly reminiscent of the 1989 moment when Senator Jesse Helms demonized Robert Mapplethorpe’s sexuality, and by extension, his art, pulling a cowering art world to its knees.
- One of the great powers of art is its ability to foster both nuanced and heartfelt discussions about serious cultural issues. It is inherent to the nature of such discussions that they elicit strong, and often conflicting, feelings. It is crucial that museums and curators feel free to address such issues and to take intellectual, political, and aesthetic risks without fear of retribution (political, financial, or other). This event will attempt to explore these issues.
- Two versions of "A Fire in My Belly" will be screened: the original 13-minute version edited by Wojnarowicz, and the 4-minute version shown at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, with an audio re-mix featuring Diamanda Galas and edited by curator Jonathan Katz. The screenings will be followed with conversation between a number of Courtauld staff.
- Jonathan Katz will also make a statement via skype!
- The event will be open to all with free admission
Taylor, Kate. "After Dispute Over Video, Curators to Discuss Smithsonian Show". New York Times, December 8, 2010, 1:49 PM
December 9, 2010
College Art Association Board-sponsored Centennial Panel, chaired by Dr. Jonathan David Katz, addressed the Portrait Gallery censorship matter on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011, at 9:30 a.m., in the Rendezvous Trianon Room, Hilton New York Hotel
Good. Blu's MOCA Mural Erased; Who's to Blame?
Green, Tyler. "NPG commissioner resigns to protest removal."
- National Portrait Gallery commissioner James T. Bartlett has resigned in protest of the Smithsonian’s removal of David Wojnarowicz’s A Fire in My Belly from the “Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture” exhibition. Bartlett is the former board president of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The commission functions as a kind of board of directors for the gallery.
Jacqueline Trescott, Washington Post: "Smithsonian deals with fallout", December 9, 2010
New York City Meeting to Take Action Against Censorship
- Thursday, December 9, PPOW, 511 West 25th Street #301, New York, NY 10001, (212) 647-1044; 6:30 to 8:30pm
December 10, 2010
Carter, Holland. New York Times: "Critic's Notebook. As Ants Crawl Over Crucifix", December 10, 2010
National Coalition Against Censorship: LA MOCA Whitewashes Political Mural. December 10, 2010
- Los Angles Museum of Contemporary Art, newly headed by New York transplant Jeffrey Deitch, whitewashed a mural painted by internationally known street artist BLU. The mural, originally commissioned by MOCA for their upcoming Art in the Street exhibit, faces the Veterans Administration healthcare building on Temple Street in Downtown Los Angeles.
- Is it a publicity stunt and part of the art project? See Good December 9, 2010.
San Francisco Camerawork and the Queer Cultural Center: Emergency Screening of David Wojnarowicz's A Fire in My Belly. Friday, December 10, 2010 at 7:00 pm
- The unedited video by artist David Wojnarowicz recently censored from the National Portrait Gallery's Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture exhibition after objections raised by members of Congress and the Catholic League without input or discussion with the curator or public. This Emergency Screening is part of a nationwide movement to screen the film and discuss it publicly.
- The 13-minute video will be followed by a presentation by art historian, writer, and activist Robert Atkins who will provide historical context for such acts of government censorship and help lead a panel discussion that will include queer activists, scholars, and artists. Robert Atkins, Ian Carter, Kim Anno, and other distinguished panelists will elicit audience responses and potential plans for making sure such censoring of exhibitions and ideas do not go unchallenged. The evening will culminate with comments from Jonathan D. Katz, curator of Hide/Seek, who will join us from New York via Skype.
December 11, 20010
Rich, Frank. Gay Bashing at the Smithsonian. New York Times.
December 13, 2010
Warhol Foundation: "Demands Reinstatement of Censored Art", December 13, 2010
December 15, 2010
Jonathan David Katz, David C. Ward on "Hide/Seek: Seeking and Speaking Sexuality in the Museum." The curators of Hide/Seek speak about the exhibition and the response to it. Wednesday, December 15, New York Public Library, 7 pm, Schwarzman Building, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, South Court Auditorium. Information: http://lgbt.nypl.org/
December 16, 2010=
International Center for Photography. David Wojnarowicz, A Fire in My Belly 1986–87: Video Screening and Conversation. School at ICP, 1114 Avenue of the Americas, 7:00pm
December 19, 2010
New York City demonstration against censorship of Hide/Seek by the Smithsonian
- Sunday, December 19: Place to be announced
Timeline to be continued
Sources of Information
ArtPositive.org: New York City Group Organizing to Protest Censorship
SilenceStillEqualsDeath.blogspot.com
Additional Undated Sources
National Portrait Gallery's Official Statement
Petition Against the Censorship of Hide/Seek Exhibition
See also:
Jonathan David Katz and David C. Ward: “Hide/Seek", October 30, 2010-February 13, 2011
Timeline: ZAP! Art and the Queer Revolution, 1969-present
Wendy, Sister, and Bill Moyers. Discussing "Piss Christ" by Andres Serrano.
Notes
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