Blog Post #3: "In The #MeToo Era, Do These Paintings Still Belong In A Museum?"

     In her article for Huffpost, Priscilla Frank discusses the debates around art history's "problematic faves", and whether or not their more controversial paintings should still be shown in museums, at least within their currently presented context. Frank discusses many paintings with questionable content and backgrounds, delving into the debate around them. The first of which being Thérèse Dreaming by Balthus. 

    The model in the piece, Thérèse Blanchard, modelled for Balthus from the age of 11 to 14, from 1936 to 1939. Despite her young age, the piece seems to be depicting her in a very sexual light, which doesn't sit well, especially in the modern age. On November 30th, 2017, a local named Mia Merrill would petition the Metropolitan Museum of Art to either removed the painting from show amend the wall text associated with it to acknowledge the paintings problematic nature, stating: "...in showcasing this work for the masses without providing any type of clarification, The Met is, perhaps unintentionally, supporting voyeurism and the objectification of children."

    Some members of the art world described her petition as being a witch hunt, and while their comments were condescending, there is a point to be made that the art should not be removed. As frank puts it "The fact that women often appear unclothed in paintings is not, in itself, cause for alarm. The problem is the imbalance of power behind many of those paintings, a dynamic that positions woman as the eternal object of beauty and man as the genius creator and authority of it."

"Venus of Urbino"

    

    The Met would not remove the Balthus, and their statement did nothing to address Merrill's call for them to edit the wall text either. They spoke with an air of neutrality, as if they were attempting to be unbiased and objective. 

    Frank continues to speak upon the exploitative nature of Western art, both towards women and Eastern cultures. How Picasso's piece Les Demoiselles d’Avignon depicts 5 sex workers he'd encountered, rendering their visages in the style of African masks. Art historian Robert Rosenblum would describe them as being "primal", having forced their eroticism onto Picasso, and overall pinning their representation in his painting as being their own fault. However, given how Picasso was known to treat his female subjects, this interpretation is not very likely to be true. The women themselves remain anonymous to this day, and Picasso's work is still viewed prominently without the context of his behavior.

Les Demoiselles d’Avignon 

    The article ends off with discussion of Dalou's Bacchus and Ariadne, depicting a scene similar to some of the paintings from my previous blog post; the god Bacchus awakening the princess Ariadne with a kiss. Ronna Tulgan Ostheimer, the director of education for the Clark Museum, I believe puts it best: 

    “Is it ever OK for a man to be kissing a sleeping woman without her consent? I asked the students, faculty and staff: ‘I’m curious, do you think it’s ever OK to talk about this sculpture without bringing up that what is happening feeds into stereotypes and assumptions that this behavior is permissible?’ They thought once you have an awareness that an artwork perpetuates dangerous ideas, how can you possibly talk about it without bringing up the problem?”

    

Bacchus and Ariadne

    This article does a good job of highlighting the issue and just how gray it is. Do we display these problematic works or not? Personally, I say we should, but not the way they are now. Growing up I was always regaled about how wonderful Picasso was, how revolutionary and brilliant he is. I used to think he was quite interesting.

    Nowadays, most of the greats I was sold on as a child I've come to find were misogynistic creeps. Or worse.

    To continue to speak about their artwork with no concern for illuminating their blatant underlying issues is just as damaging as removing them from the walls. The works should be shown, but it should be made clear that they are not innocent. No man, no matter how famous or how dead, should be exempt from legitimate criticism on his behavior. To not be upfront about such things to museum goers is death of history.

    For museums to try to remain "neutral" on the subject of sexual assault and exploitation of marginalized groups within their showcase is no better than condoning the actions Picasso and many others. Ignorance sows the seeds of bigotry.

    We learn from history, as to not repeat it. At least, that's how I see it.

Source:

Frank, Priscilla. “In the #metoo Era, Do These Paintings Still Belong in a Museum?” HuffPost, December 15, 2017. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/museums-me-too-sexual-harassment-art_n_5a2ae382e4b0a290f0507176.