Brooklyn Hangs Tough - art exhibit censorship

Art in America, Jan, 2000 by Lee Rosenbaum

Meanwhile, New York City's lawyers have brought suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals, seeking to overturn Judge Gershon's preliminary injunction ordering the city to continue paying to the museum the $7.2 million in funds (almost one-third of the museum's budget for this year) that had been allocated for fiscal 2000. In the appellants' brief, the city and mayor again argue that Brooklyn used city funds "for purposes outside the parameters for which the money was authorized, by showing an exhibit containing vulgar and offensive works of art that desecrate religion and are plainly unsuitable four children."

Brooklyn's lawyers are seeking to have the preliminary injunction made permanent. These issues, at this writing, are scheduled to be heard in court in January. Although the museum's legal fees are being partly underwritten by four foundations [see box], Brooklyn is "not close to being up-to-date on paying" its lawyers, Lehman admitted. The city's growing legal costs in defending itself against this and more than 20 other First Amendment lawsuits brought on Giuliani's watch were recently called into question by Mark Green, the New York City Public Advocate and a longtime antagonist of the mayor. Green estimated that more than $5 million in public funds have been squandered on cases that, with few exceptions, were lost by the city--a "unique record of costly failure" and an "abysmal record on civil liberties," in Green's view. In the midst of these struggles, the Brooklyn Museum is still trying to carry on with its $116-million capital campaign ($58 million for capital improvements; $58 million for endowment and general operating support), which would include $10 million from the mayor's office--an amount requested but not yet committed.

Despite the toll on the museum's funds, staff and reputation, and notwithstanding the trials yet to come, Lehman takes solace in the role "Sensation" has played in attracting to the museum a wide range of new visitors, who have enjoyed not only Saatchi's cache but also the objects in Brooklyn's permanent collection. "You can't go any place in the world where the name of this museum isn't recognized," Lehman stated. "We never wanted to get there in this way, but we have seen some benefits. Our responsibility now is to keep the public discourse about art at a level where it is deemed significant. It shouldn't just rise and fall on controversy."

The Money Trail: Who Gave What to "Sensation"

Donations or pledges to support the exhibition:
Charles Saatchi                             $160,000
Christie's                                   $50,000
David Bowie                                  $50,000
Art dealers purchasing tickets to
 the benefit gala
(including Gagosian, Luhring Augustine,
 Lehmann Maupin, Sperone Westwater)          $30,000
Other revenue from gala                     $140,000
Third Millennium Foundation (for
 educational programming)                   $139,500
British Tourist Authority                    $15,000

Donations or pledges to defray the Brooklyn Museum's legal costs:

Robert Sterling Clark Foundation             $25,000
Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts   $25,000
Tebil Foundation                             $25,000
Nathan Cummings Foundation                   $20,000