Claudio Painting
- Artist/Author/Producer: Dayton Claudio
- Confronting Bodies: Employees at the General Services
Administration Federal Building
- Dates of Action: 1991
- Location: Sacramento, California
- Description of Artwork
- A 9' by 5' acrylic painting of a female nude entitled Madonna.
- Description of incident
- In response to complaints by several employees, a General Services
Administration (GSA) field officer ordered a painting entitled "Madonna
," by Dayton Claudio, draped in black plastic. The painting,
challenged for including nudity, was on display at a GSA building, the
Sacramento, California Federal Building. Ironically, it was placed next
to a case displaying a copy of the Bill of Rights.
Claudio's painting appeared at the Federal Building as part of the GSA's
"Living Buildings" program. The program provides a space in public
buildings for artists to show their work. No federal grants are
involved.
The employees submitted a complaint stating that nudity was not
appropriate for the workplace. One woman commented that to display the
painting immediately following the Clarance Thomas/Anita Hill hearings
was "pretty tacky." John Habein, GSA field office manager, honored the
employee's request and ordered the painting to be covered or removed.
- Results of incident
- Dayton Claudio refused to remove the painting, saying, "It celebrates
the beauty of the human form. It is not political, sexist or erotic."
By the end of the week, GSA official Mary Filippini reversed Habein,
instructing that the painting remain on display. Filippini said that
there had been "some complaints by some of the tenants of the building,
but you're going to find complaints on virtually any artwork you put up."
Source: People for the American Way
Record no 8