In , the Corcoran Gallery of Art sensed a crisis in the making. The show's runs in Philadelphia and Chicago had drawn the ire of Republican Senator Jesse Helms, who was doing everything in his power to make Mapplethorpe's representation of homoerotic imagery the first order of business of the United States legislative branch. Helms went so far as to distribute copies of Mapplethorpe's photographs to fellow committee members, who were considering a penalty against the National Endowment for the Arts for supporting art deemed too dangerous and depraved to be looked at. Then-Corcoran director Christina Orr-Cahal finally caved, canceling the exhibit's run at the Washington museum. Whatever hypothetical conflict she managed to avoid with Congress who hammered on the NEA anyway was pleasant in comparison to the mob of angry protesters that greeted her poor decision. Many of those who were furious with the museum for censoring the show were to be expected: artists, donors, students, members. One, however, was a shock beyond shock art: Jesse Helms.


"Piss Christ" Photograph Coming To New York, Angering Pols



Sweet Jesus! Shock, awe, and the mundane | Art21 Magazine
Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. Personal: Birth date: May 28, Mother: Helen D'Avanzo Giuliani, a secretary. Education: Manhattan College, B. Other Facts: Widely credited with New York's revitalization during the s, when crime dropped significantly and the economy boomed.


Sweet Jesus! Shock, awe, and the mundane
NEW York's new "decency commission", created to remove filth and blasphemy from the walls of museums and galleries, took just a day to claim its first victim. Unfortunately, he is one of its own. Barely 24 hours after he was appointed as a guardian of Manhattan morality, Peter Max, the veteran pop artist, was forced to offer his resignation. His offence was not to smear an image of the Virgin Mary with elephant dung or portray Christ as a bare-breasted woman two of the artistic efforts infuriating Rudy Giuliani, New York's mayor , but the more prosaic American pastime of tax evasion. Max, 63, is familiar for his brightly coloured versions of the Statue of Liberty and decorating everything from Boeing jets to racing cars.




This artwork depicting Jesus Christ was sculpted from pounds of chocolate. It was to be exhibited at a gallery in Midtown, looking out onto the street during Holy Week right before Easter. After an intense uproar, featuring the voices of Cardinal Edward Egan and Bill Donohue from the Catholic League, the exhibition was moved and postponed until November. In some ways this might be a prime example of what James mentions in his comment. In addition to Holy Virgin Mary , many other images have been at the center of their own controversies for showcasing religious iconography in secular way.