Art Museum Pulls Plug

Insight on the News, Dec 27, 1999 by Julia Duin

The Detroit Institute of Art, or DIA, has canceled an exhibit of religious and sexually oriented art on the grounds that it is too offensive for the city's multiethnic population. The museum's decision contrasts with the Brooklyn Museum of Art's promotion of its controversial "Sensation" show, which features the now-notorious dung-spattered Virgin Mary.

The Detroit exhibit would have displayed works such as Bathtub Jesus, a multimedia work that included a doll wearing a condom and a video of British performance artist Tracey Emin, naked, performing a "menstruation ritual" in a shower.

"It's shock art," says DIA spokeswoman Annmarie Erickson. "But when the people inside the museum are questioning it, it was time to reconsider. The museum really feels comfortable with the decision we made. We had a responsibility to the artists, but a greater one to the community."

The decision to cancel the Detroit exhibition was made by Graham Beal, the museum's new art director. Beal issued a press release saying he reluctantly decided to postpone the exhibit on the grounds it would "cause offense to important parts of our community." Detroit has high concentrations of blacks, Roman Catholics (Pope John Paul II visited the city in 1987) and Muslims.