Right Around the Corner/A Common Ground
Artist: Richard Kamler
Year: 2010
Date of Action: November 2009
Region: North America
Location: New Haven, CT
Subject: Religion
Medium: Sculpture
Confronting Bodies: Event organizers
Description of Artwork: The piece is intended as a commentary on the increasing Muslim presence in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood. It features a table covered by a tablecloth, which is made of interwoven pages of the Koran and the Torah. Sitting on the table is a bowl with a copy of the Koran and the Torah in it. Their pages are interwoven as well.
The Incident: Kamler was commissioned to create an art piece which celebrated the history of the Orchard Street Shul. After consulting with both Islamic and Jewish religious leaders to ensure that using pages of the religious books did not go against religious precepts of either religion, he created the piece to be put on display in an exhibition whose theme was celebrating the building.
Results of Incident: Event organizers pulled the piece from the exhibition, claiming that it "fell outside the guidelines" for work to be displayed.
Source:
• http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2009/11/censorship_char.php
The picture is a close-up of the tablecloth featured in the artwork.
