Back in 1999, the Brooklyn Museum held Sensation, an exhibit of works from up-and-coming British artists like Damien Hirst and Rachel Whiteread. But the Giuliani administration freaked out because of Nigerian-British artist Chris Ofili's painting, "The Holy Virgin Mary," which depicted the Virgin Mary, with elephant dung and cutouts of genitalia from porn magazines, and tried to shut down the show. Now, former Giuliani top aide-turned-MTA chief-turned mayoral candidate Joe Lhota discusses the controversy with the NY Times, "I have a much clearer understanding of the First Amendment now." Better late than never?
Lhota never actually saw the painting—he only heard about it and saw photos of it—and says, "As a concept, it was offensive." (A 72-year-old man was arrested for throwing paint on it at the Brooklyn Museum.) The city threatened to cut off the museum's city funding if the painting wasn't removed, and eventually the Brooklyn Museum sued and won, with the judge noting that Lhota's testimony (PDF) showed the City of New York "has never contemplated that the city or the mayor would have veto power over the museum’s decisions as to what to display."
The museum's lawyer, Floyd Abrams, told PBS in 1999, "[Giuliani] is saying, in effect, if there is a book in the library that we fund, I can take it out if it's offensive. That is profoundly dangerous, profoundly dangerous, and that's why we had to go to court."
If he was faced with this issue as mayor, Lhota says he would "Probably go see it. Enjoy it. Hope there is a ribbon cutting." Right after calling Port Authority cops mall cops, perhaps?
Ofili's "The Holy Virgin Mary" can be seen at the Museum of Old and New Art in Australia.
