The Holy Virgin Mary
Artist: Chris Ofili
Year: 1996
Date of Action: 1999
Region: North America
Location: New York, New York
Subject: Religion
Medium: Mixed Media, Painting, Photography
Confronting Bodies: Rudolph Giuliani
Description of Artwork: The large painting by artist, Chris Ofili, depicts a black woman wearing a blue robe, characteristic of the Virgin Mary. The mixed media work includes elephant dung, map pins, and pornographic images. The central Black Madonna is surrounded by small images of female genitalia. Ofili has described the painting as a hip hop version of traditional depictions of the Virgin Mary.
The Incident: Mayor Rudolph Giuliani deemed the art offensive and sacrilegious and demanded that the Brooklyn Museum of Art cancelled the opening of the exhibition. He threatened to cut off all city subsidies to the museum if they did not follow through and cancel the exhibit. He said "You don't have a right to government subsidy for desecrating somebody else's religion and therefore we will do everything that we can to remove funding for the Brooklyn Museum until the director comes to his senses..."
Results of Incident: The Brooklyn Museum announced that children under 17 must be accompanied by an adult. Mayor Giuliani continued to threaten the museum, but was disputed by Floyd Abrams, a New York First Amendment lawyer. He said that they mayor's threats put the artist's First Amendment rights. This case is an example of the struggle between artists who are trying to express themselves artistically with the government trying to define what is or is not acceptable in the public art sphere. Ofili defended his art by expressing that portraits of the Virgin Mary are all sexually charged, but his was a more alternative and current rendition of the classic subject matter.
Source:
Giuliani Vows to Cut Subsidy Over Art He Calls Offensive
The Holy Virgin Mary (wikipedia)
