Reading: Art on the Firing Line by Grace Gluek. The New York Times, July 9, 1989.
Introduction: In this article, Gluek explores some of the central problems surrounding the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s decision to cancel a 1989 show of Robert Mapplethorpe photographs. This exhibition was put into the spotlight for two main reasons: first, because it contained images of erotic activities, some of them homosexual or sadomasochistic. At a moment in time when the AIDS epidemic was at its height, these types of personal actions became highly politicized, and the decency of Mapplethorpe’s photographs was called into question. Second, the Corcoran was going to use money from the National Endowment for the Arts, a government-sponsored entity, to mount this show. This exacerbated some of the issues that had been raised by the subject matter of Mapplethorpe’s photographs, as some members of the public did not want to pay for an exhibition that they found to be lewd and offensive. In all, through these intense reactions and responses, this exhibition shows the importance that art still has in the American cultural scene.
Questions
- Do you think that the Corcoran made the right decision? How might you have decided differently?
- How does the environment in which these photographs were viewed impact our understanding of them? How might this have been different if the photographs were grouped or chosen differently?
- Should the art that we display be subject to a set of rules regulating its decency? Should it be subject to any rules at all?
- How should the identity of the artist affect the ways in which we read his or her work?
- What do you think the reaction would be if an exhibition like this were to be put on today in Washington? Do you think it would be different from the 1989 reaction?