The Holy Virgin Mary :: essays research papers

What a sensation was made ab bulge the Sensation exhibition in the Brooklyn Museum of Art. The focus of Mayor Giulianis outcry was the piece The Holy Virgin Mary by Chris Ofili. Funny, he didnt give attention to some of the other outrageous works including the puberulent female mannequins studded with erect penises, vaginas, and anuses, fused together in various postures of sexual coupling, or the portrait of a child molester and murder made from what appears care child hand prints or bisected animals in plexiglass tanks full of formaldehyde. Would it ever have made headlines with a different title, like Afro-lady? I dont think so. I guess targeting religion gets a little too personal. Giuliani said, You dont have the right to government subsidy for desecrating somebody elses religion. If you are a government-subsidized enterprise, then you cant do things that desecrate the most personal and deeply held views of people in society. You would think that the government nonrecreationa l these artists, right? It turns out that the show consisted of Charles Saatchis privately owned collection VIEWED in a public museum. So what does that mean to you? Well, when I found out that tidbit of information, it didnt seem so offensive anymore. Taxpayers didnt pay these young British artists to create controversial pieces. Taxpayers fund the museum itself to stay open. Museums have a variety of exhibitions all year. What is wrong with having one displaying a private collection? This is a common thing with museums. Otherwise, how would the public ever get to view vast artistic compilations of the wealthy? Some collections are beautiful, others perturbing. But, who draws this line? Who gets to decide? The individual. If you do not want to submit your eyes to horrendous, offensive creations, then dont Its interesting to note what happened to the art world after Duchamp revolutionized art into meaninglessness. Artists seem to be exempt from the moral laws that are binding to or dinary people. Everything is O.K. infra arts magic umbrella rotting corpses with snails crawling over them, kicking little girls in the head, rape and murder recreations, women defecating. Where does it stop? What is art and what is dirty word? What is art and what is disgusting? Where is the line? There isnt one anymore. The effect of Duchamps pranks was to point out that anything could be art. All it took was getting people to chink to call something art.