(PEN/IFEX) – The following is a PEN statement regarding the threat to cut subsidies to the Brooklyn Museum of Art: ADD YOUR NAME to PEN Statement on the Brooklyn Museum of Art controversy SIGN ON to the statement (copied below) in defense of artistic freedom at www.pen.org Join the hundreds of writers, artists and concerned […]
(PEN/IFEX) – The following is a PEN statement regarding the threat to cut
subsidies to the Brooklyn Museum of Art:
ADD YOUR NAME to PEN Statement on the Brooklyn Museum of Art controversy
SIGN ON to the statement (copied below) in defense of artistic freedom at
www.pen.org
Join the hundreds of writers, artists and concerned individuals to support
free expression in the arts.
DEFEND ARTISTIC FREEDOM IN NEW YORK
As members of the artistic community, we deplore Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s
attempt to suspend funding from the Brooklyn Museum of Art over the
exhibition “Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection.”
We support the creative and curatorial independence of the Museum and of
other cultural institutions and believe that government should not be
allowed to make its support of the arts subject to the personal aesthetic or
religious views of public officials. Such a
development would seriously compromise the artistic freedom and vitality
that have made New York City a world capital for the arts, literature and
culture.
By threatening to cut subsidies to a City-supported museum because of its
decision to exhibit provocative art, the Giuliani administration blatantly
disregards constitutional protection for arts freedom. The U.S. Supreme
Court has recently established that government cannot disfavor or penalize
cultural institutions or individual artists based on the viewpoints
expressed in their art. The Mayor’s recent action would clearly constitute
such a penalty.
The undersigned represent a variety of perspectives on the intrinsic merit
of the art in question, but we are united in support of the principle that
freedom of expression must include the artistic freedom to challenge and
offend. We call on Mayor Giuliani to uphold this freedom, so essential to
the cultural health of our city and nation, in all its diversity and
richness.
[GO TO PEN WEBSITE TO SIGN ON and VIEW THE GROWING LIST OF SIGNATORIES]
TO ADD YOUR NAME, or obtain more information on ways to support this effort,
contact:
PEN, 568 Broadway, Suite 401, New York, NY 10012, telephone (212)
334-1660, extension 111, www.pen.org
PEN American Center, a fellowship of 2,600 writers nationwide, defends free
expression and promotes literature and literacy.
