http://www.loper.org/~george/trends/2001/Mar/065.html
Freedom of Expression: Virgin Mary in Two-Piece Swimsuit
March 2001
By George Loper
"Compared with a photograph of a nude woman as Jesus
at the Last Supper or a painting of the Virgin Mary with a dollop of elephant
dung on her breast, a computerized photo collage of Our Lady of Guadalupe
wearing a two-piece swimsuit of bright roses seems rather innocuous.
Yet that collage of the Roman Catholic icon, which is part
of an exhibition at the Museum of International Folk Art here, has caused
such an uproar that museum officials say they have been threatened with physical
harm and state lawmakers have suggested that the museum should lose some of
its state support.
'We never expected anything like this,' said Thomas H. Wilson,
director of New Mexico's four state museums, who grew concerned enough to
consult with officials of the Brooklyn Museum of Art to find out how they
handled similar situations, including the current showing of the nude woman
as Jesus and the exhibition of the Virgin Mary painting.
Hanging here since February, the collage 'Our Lady,' by Alma
Lopez, a California artist, prompted a boisterous protest outside the museum;
a harsh review by the archbishop of Santa Fe, Michael J. Sheehan; a letter
expressing deep concern from the Santa Fe delegation to the State Legislature;
and the hurried scheduling of an open hearing on Wednesday before the museum's
board. After the hearing, Mr. Wilson said, the seven board members will have
the option to vote to remove the work.
Mr. Wilson said he had no idea how the members might vote.
'State lawmakers have been calling them, too,' he said. 'I
would not want to be the first museum director in the United States facing
such pressure to remove a work of art. It's contrary to the principles of
free speech and artistic freedom.'
Representative Ben Lujan, a Democrat who is Speaker of the
House and who signed the letter of concern, said that he favored removing
the collage but that cutting the museum's financial support 'is not the directive
we are trying to express.'
The work by Ms. Lopez, which also features a bare-breasted
angel holding the Virgin Mary aloft, is part of an exhibit featuring Hispanic
artists who use computers to produce works. Some works are actual computer
parts. Ms. Lopez's 'Our Lady,' and her other eight pieces on display, are
printouts from images put together on a computer program.
Tey Marianna Nunn, the curator of the exhibit, said the works
on display reflected an emerging style that many Hispanic artists had embraced
to interpret their cultural history and beliefs. Our Lady of Guadalupe, an
image of the Virgin Mary who many Catholics believe appeared before a Mexican
peasant, Juan Diego, in 1531, has been a favorite subject for 'reimaging,'
Ms. Nunn said. She noted that there had been recent depictions of Mary as
a Barbie doll, a karate kicker and a tattooed lesbian.
Ms. Lopez, a Catholic who lives in Santa Monica, Calif.,
has defended her interpretation of the Virgin by saying she is showing Mary
as a strong woman 'and not as the young, passive' more traditional image with
head bowed and hands clasped that was displayed in her home when she was growing
up.
In a recent letter to a supporter that museum officials are
providing reporters, Ms. Lopez wrote, 'I can only imagine that the mother
of Jesus would be an incredibly strong woman to raise and endure the pain
of her son's struggles.'
She defended the angel by saying the bare breasts represented
beauty and nurturing.
Nonetheless, the collage now hangs in a room where museum
officials this week felt the need to post a sign that reads, 'Some objects
in this exhibition may be disturbing to certain viewers.'
And to many, 'Our Lady' has been. Museum officials have collected scores of
letters, notes, e-mail messages and comments by telephone from people who
have seen the exhibit or have only heard about it. They are running about
60 percent in support of the museum's showing Ms. Lopez's work, with the rest
opposed, Mr. Thomas said.
Few of those opposed expressed stronger views than Archbishop
Sheehan, who said in an interview that he had grown tired of seeing the Virgin
Mary depicted in ways that he and other Catholics found offensive.
'This is not censorship,' he said of his insistence that
the work be removed. 'My concern here is that this is an insulting image of
a sacred icon of the Virgin Mary. It's deeply insulting and disrespectful
to the sentiments of many people. It's even more insulting for her to say,
I'm Catholic, so it's O.K.'
For all the fuss, Mr. Wilson said museum attendance had increased
since the exhibition opened, with many visitors simply wanting to see what
is stirring the controversy.
A steady stream of people passed the collage today, including
Mary Ellen Taggart of Essex Falls, N.J., A Catholic. She concluded that it
was easier to draw a negative response by only seeing 'Our Lady,' rather than
all nine of Ms. Lopez's works.
'Am I offended?' she asked standing in front of the work.
'Not really. But it's sure caused some hornet's nest, hasn't it?' " (Michael
Janofsky, The New York Times, March 31, 2001).
The Museum of International Folk Art has decided to let the "computerized photo collage of Our Lady of Guadalupe in a rose-covered bikini remain on display through the fall" (Mindy Sink, The New York Times, May 23, 2001).
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Comments? Questions? Write me at george@loper.org.