You may be following the story about the censorship of the art exhibit at the Smithsonian in which a video by AIDS-activist artist David Wojnarowicz (1954-1992) was pulled from the show after House Republicans said it was anti-Catholic and should be removed. Frank Rich in Sunday’s NY Times calls it an outrageous case of homophobia.
The story is still developing, with protests being organized by artists and at least one resignation of a Smithsonian board member. Artblog‘s Andrea Kirsh will be covering the show and the controversy in two future posts. We are disturbed by this return to 1980s tactics by politicians trying to kill free expression through name-calling and strong-arm tactics. Here are three recent articles from the Washington Post to bring you up to speed.
PROFILE OF CENSORED ARTIST DAVID WOJNAROWICZ
Philip Kennicott, Washington Post Style Writer, profiles David Wojnarowicz, the artist who created the controversial “Fire In My Belly” video, which was removed from the Smithsonian’s exhibit .
‘Fire’ man: Wojnarowicz, censored by Smithsonian, sounded an alarm in dire times—
SMITHSONIAN REACTION/RESIGNATION
Jacqueline Trescott, Washington Post Style Writer, reports on the Smithsonian’s handling of the controversy, including the resignation of a Board member.
Smithsonian deals with fallout over David Wojnarowicz video controversy—
COLBERT ON CONTROVERSY
Stephen Colbert weighs in on the controversy (video)
Thanks to Katie Kemple for the heads up on these articles.
