HIDE / SEEK: difference and desire in American portraiture by Jonathan D. Katz

Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture opened on October 30th, 2010 at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. as the first major American exhibition to highlight sexual difference in American portraiture. Although originally greeted with praise, one month after opening day the show came under attack. The Catholic League, a right-wing political group, Virginia Representative Eric Cantor, and now Speaker of the House John Boehner launched a targeted attack on a video work by David Wojnarowicz entitled “A Fire in My Belly” — a piece that included 13 seconds of ants crawling on a crucifix. House Speaker Boehner and Representative Cantor threatened the Smithsonian Institution with cuts to their budget for displaying a work they deemed blasphemous and on November 30th, 2010, Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough removed the video from the gallery.

In response to this act of censorship, hundreds of museums, galleries, and cultural institutions around the world organized protests, discussions, lectures, and screened Wojnarowicz’s film at events, in window displays, and in galleries.

Finally, in a grand statement of support, the Brooklyn Museum in New York and the Tacoma Art Museum in Tacoma, Washington stepped up to host the exhibition in its entirety. Opening November 18th in Brooklyn and in March of 2012 in Tacoma, Hide/Seek will continue to create waves and conversation and HIDESEEK.org will continue to document this pivotal moment in American history.

 

Biography: Jonathan D. Katz