Photo Credit: Ted Eytan https://www.tedeytan.com/2018/03/02/25277
The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) raised objections today regarding recent announcements by the Pérez Art Museum Miami, the Minneapolis Museum of Art, and the Joslyn Art Museum to postpone or cancel planned exhibitions featuring work by renowned American artist Kehinde Wiley. In recent weeks the artist’s behavior and moral integrity have come under public scrutiny, following mounting allegations of sexual assault against him.
While the allegations against Wiley are serious and concerning, the museums’ response communicates a practice of scrutinizing the alleged personal conduct of all exhibiting artists, and risks an ad hoc application of unstated policy. This is concerning because museums are neither equipped nor mandated to be enforcers of moral orthodoxy. Their shared role is to instead identify and contextualize works that have artistic merit and cultural relevance.
Read NCAC’s full letter to the he Pérez Art Museum Miami, the Minneapolis Museum of Art, and the Joslyn Art Museum here:Click here for a full-screen view: