However, a campaign launched by the American Family Association, a conservative watchdog group, to censor what they considered “indecent” art changed the climate of reception. On June 12, 1989 Christina Orr-Cahall, the director of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, cancelled “ The Perfect Moment, ” which was scheduled to open there on June 30. Orr-Cahall feared that The Perfect Moment would endanger National Endowment for the Arts (NEA ) appropriations in the United States Congress. On June 30, 1989, protesters angered by the cancellation of the show by the Corcoran Gallery projected slides of Mapplethorpe's photographs on the facade of the museum. Seven hundred people rallied to express their outrage about the Corcoran's decision. Michael Brenson, art critic for the New York Times wrote, “This exhibit should be seen. It is extremely unfortunate that the Corcoran Gallery of Art canceled it last month in the hope of averting a political outcry … As much as he has been made out to be a renegade and outlaw, Mapplethorpe is an utterly mainstream artist. He loved freshness and glamor and was obsessed with the moment, which his photographs always reflect. In his restricted spaces and his feeling for abstraction and attentiveness to every shape, edge and texture, Mapplethorpe is a child of the Formalism of the 1960s." The Washington Project for the Arts (WPA) stepped in to host the show, and on July 22, 1989, “ The Perfect Moment ” opened at this alternative art space. No incidents marred the show's run at the Washington Project for the Arts. However, Senator Jesse Helms introduced legislation that would stop the NEA from funding artwork he considered “obscene.” The legislation subsequently required any recipients of NEA funds to sign an oath that declared they would not promote obscenity. The oath provoked protests from artists and arts organizations. When, during the next grant cycle, in this climate of fear, applications for support equaling hundreds of thousands of dollars were rejected. Outraged artists filed lawsuits against the agency. A compromise was reached in Congress. Although the radically restrictive Helms amendment did not pass, restrictions were placed on NEA funding procedures. Censorship In March 1990, anti-pornography advocates in Cincinnati Ohio, the Citizens for Community Values, launched a campaign to pressure the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) to cancel “ The Perfect Moment. ” Cincinnati law enforcement ordered four hundred visitors from the museum to leave while they videotaped Mapplethorpe's photographs as evidence to support obscenity charges brought against Dennis Barrie, the director of the CAC, and against the CAC. This was the first time a museum in the United States faced prosecution for the art it displayed. On October 5, 1990, Dennis Barrie and the CAC were acquitted in the obscenity case. The prosecution failed to convince the jury that Mapplethorpe's photographs lacked artistic merit. In Cincinnati, more than 80,000 people saw the show. The censorship proceedings doubtless brought more attention to Mapplethorpe's work than it would have otherwise received.
However, a campaign launched by the American Family Association, a conservative watchdog group, to censor what they considered "indecent" art changed the climate of reception. On June 12, 1989 Christina Orr-Cahall, the director of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, cancelled The Perfect Moment, which was scheduled to open there on June 30. Orr-Cahall feared that The Perfect Moment would endanger NEA appropriations in the United States Congress. On June 30, 1989, protesters angered by the cancellation of the show by the Corcoran Gallery projected slides of Mapplethorpe's photographs on the facade of the museum. 700 people rallied to express their outrage about the Corcoran's decision. Michael Brenson, art critic for the New York Times wrote, “This exhibit should be seen. It is extremely unfortunate that the Corcoran Gallery of Art canceled it last month in the hope of averting a political outcry . As much as he has been made out to be a renegade and outlaw, Mapplethorpe is an utterly mainstream artist. He loved freshness and glamor and was obsessed with the moment, which his photographs always reflect. In his restricted spaces and his feeling for abstraction and attentiveness to every shape, edge and texture, Mapplethorpe is a child of the Formalism of the 1960s." The Washington Project for the Arts (WPA) stepped in to host the show, and on July 22, 1989, The Perfect Moment opened at this alternative art space. No incidents marred the show's run at the Washington Project for the Arts. However, Senator Jesse Helms introduced legislation that would stop the NEA from funding artwork considered "obscene". The legislation subsequently required any recipients of NEA funds to sign an oath that declared they would not promote obscenity. The oath provoked protests from artists and arts organizations. When, during the next grant cycle, in this climate of fear, applications for support equaling hundreds of thousands of dollars were rejected. Outraged artists filed lawsuits against the agency. A compromise was reached in Congress. Although the radically restrictive Helms amendment did not pass, restrictions were placed on NEA funding procedures. Censorship In March 1990, anti-pornography advocates in Cincinnati Ohio, the Citizens for Community Values, launched a campaign to pressure the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) to cancel The Perfect Moment. Cincinnati law enforcement ordered 400 visitors from the museum to leave while they videotaped Mapplethorpe's photographs as evidence to support obscenity charges brought against Dennis Barrie, the director of the CAC, and against the CAC. This was the first time a museum in the United States faced prosecution for the art it displayed. On October 5, 1990, Barrie and the CAC were acquitted in the obscenity case. The prosecution failed to convince the jury that Mapplethorpe's photographs lacked artistic merit. In Cincinnati, more than 80,000 people saw the show. The censorship proceedings doubtless brought more attention to Mapplethorpe's work than it would have otherwise received.
R
“indecent”
"indecent"
D
“
D
”
R
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA )
NEA
R
Seven hundred
700
R
…
.
D
“
D
”
R
he considered “obscene.”
considered "obscene".
D
“
D
”
R
four hundred
400
D
Dennis