Censorship in Museums

December 2, 2010

Museum curators devote much time to piecing together meaningful exhibits. They are guided not only by their own artistic tastes and principles but also by those of art critics, artists, the consuming public, and sponsors. Federally funded institutions, like the National Portrait Gallery, are also guided, and perhaps largely controlled, by politics.

The NPG was recently forced to remove a short video from an exhibition that deals with homosexuality and has been called “an outrageous use of taxpayer money.” But is it really so “outrageous” for an artistic exhibit to touch upon sensitive issues?

Lee Rosenbaum, Culture Grrl, considers both sides of “The Culture Wars.”

Blake Gopnik, at the Washington Post, argues that the NPG should have not caved into the pressure.

The controversy has sparked debate in Congress about museum funding: read more at the Huffington Post.