Chris Ofili, The Holy Virgin Mary (1996)
Chris Ofili, one of the YBAs featured in the Saatchi traveling exhibition Sensation, caused an uproar in New York when this painting, which incorporates carefully rendered elephant dung and cut-out pornographic images, was shown at the Brooklyn Museum. Previously shown in London with little comment (unlike other works in the exhibition), Ofili’s “Virgin Mary” enticed then-mayor Rudy Giuliani to say “There’s nothing in the First Amendment that supports horrible and disgusting projects!”, as well as lawsuits and personal statements from a variety of New York public figures. Wikipedia details the result of Giuliani’s lawsuit against the museum:The United States House of Representatives passed a nonbinding resolution to end federal funding for the museum on 3 October 1999, and New York City did stop funding to the Brooklyn Museum. On 1 November, federal judge Nina Gershon ordered the City not only to restore the funding that was denied to the Museum, but also to refrain from continuing its ejectment action. On 16 December 1999, a 72-year-old man was arrested for criminal mischief after smearing the Ofili painting with white paint, which was soon removed. The museum produced a yellow stamp, saying the artworks on show “may cause shock, vomiting, confusion, panic, euphoria and anxiety.” and Ofili’s painting was shown behind a Plexiglass screen, guarded by a museum attendant and an armed police officer.
