Friday, October 1, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 9
Nation
New York officials continue battle
Museum exhibits accused of being risqué by city
The Associated Press
NEW YORK—City officials have fired another round in their escalating fight with the Brooklyn Museum of Art, accusing the museum of displaying controversial work just to drive up its value.
The accusations made Wednesday by Deputy Mayor Joseph Lhota and the city's top lawyer, Michael Hess, came a day after the museum sued to stop Mayor Rudolph Giuliani from freezing its funding because of the dispute.
Guliani has threatened to cut city funding to the museum because of its decision to display an exhibit that includes an African-American Madonna decorated with elephant dung and pornographic cutouts. The
funding amounts to $7 million, or about one-third of the museum's budget.
The pieces are from advertising executive Charles Saatchi's collection. Lhota and Hess said the museum planned the "Sensation" exhibition, working behind the scenes with Christie's auction house, so the works would fetch high prices at auction once the show closes. Christie is helping sponsor the exhibit.
Lhota cited a New York Observer article that said after the show closed in London. Sasati auctioned 128 pieces from his collection, many of them by artists in the show.
Giuliani, on a fund-raising trip in California, said he had been in touch with Lhota and Hess about their accusations. He said the project raised the question whether a publicly funded museum should engage in shock commercialization.
Saatchi collection to create bursaries (scholarships) for young artists," said Frederick Goetzen, representative for Christie's in London, yesterday referring to a sale in December 1998.
"We sold 130 works from the
He said none of the works sold were in the Sensation exhibit, but a number of them were by artists featured in the show.
But Andree Corroon, a representative for Christie's in New York, said the house had no plans for an auction afterward.
In a statement, the museum called the accusations preposterous and misleading. The show opens tomorrow.
"This bewildering accusation has absolutely no substance, is absolutely not true," she said.
Meanwhile, a federal judge has been asked to decide whether to restore the museum's funding. The museum sued the city Tuesday, saying Giuliani's act violates the First Amendment.
The leaders of two dozen cultural institutions — including the Metropolitan Museum and the Museum of Modern Art — signed a letter protesting the mayor's funding cut.
In Washington, the Senate agreed unanimously Wednesday to a non-binding measure calling for the withholding of federal funds from the museum unless it cancels the exhibit. Independent Sen. Bob Smith of New Hampshire said the museum had received $500,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts in the last three years.
Also Wednesday, singer David Bowie — who recorded an audio tour for museum visitors — joined leaders of major New York City museums in support of the Brooklyn Museum.
"Sensation represents some of the best, worst but definitely most extreme of the high-profile work to have come out of Britain in the last 10 years or so," Bowie said in a statement.
New Mexico governor favors marijuana, heroin legalization
The Associated Press
SANTA FE, N.M.—Gov. Gary Johnson has taken his controversial stance on drugs a step further by announcing that he supports the legalization of substances such as marluiana and heroin.
"I am advocating that I think legalization is a viable alternative to what we are now doing," the Republican said Wednesday.
Johnson said he had no plans to propose legislation to make drugs legal in New Mexico, but said he personally supported legalization as a national policy.
The governor, who has acknowledged using marijuana and cocaine in the 1970s, is an avid athlete who doesn't drink alcohol or use drugs. He contends the national war against drugs has failed to stop the flow or use of drugs, and consumed money that could be better used to stop violent crime.
In the upcoming issue of Playboy, Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura recommends the less drastic approach of decriminalization.
"The prohibition of drugs causes crime." Venture told the magazine. "You don't
have to legalize it, just decriminalize it.
Regulate it. Create places where the addict can go get it."
In the past, Johnson stopped short of advocating legalization and instead focused on decriminalization, which would treat drug possession much like a traffic violation and make it punishable by a small fine.
But Johnson now says decriminalization would not eliminate the black market economy of drug trafficking. Legalization would allow governments to regulate, tax and control drugs, much like alcohol and tobacco.
Johnson expressed support for legalizing marijuana and heroin. He said he didn't know enough about the potential long-term effects of other illegal drugs, such as cocaine, to advocate their legalization.
Johnson's latest position stirred new criticism from some Republicans, who say he is going against the party's national platform that backs strong criminal penalties for drug-related crimes.
"Maybe the next thing he'll do is be bold enough to smoke a joint on TV," said Republican state Sen. Billy McKibben.
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6:30 p.m. - Class of 1959 Reunion Reception - Adams Alumni Center Class of 1959 Dinner - Adams Alumni Center
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