Powers of Desire
- Artist/Author/Producer: Powers of Desire
- Confronting Bodies: Liberty Foundation, Jerry Falwell
- Dates of action: 1993
- Location: Los Angeles, California
- Description of the Art Work
- The project by artists' collective Powers of Desire, entitled "The Dawns
We Shanghied in Each Other's Arms, Exhausted," describes a fictional
romantic relationship between Lazarus and Jesus Christ, who has Lazarus
murdered for having an affair. The accompanying drawing depicts two men
in an erotic pose. The piece is a part of a larger project examining
sexual and violent imagery in the Bible.
- Description of incident
- In an "Urgent Mail" letter from the Liberty Foundation, Jerry Falwell
began, "National Endowment for the Arts just funded the most malicious
attack ever on Christ!" He requested an "emergency gift... to maintain
battle against NEA disgrace," calling the prose piece "more vile that I
could ever imagine!" A month later John W. Whitehead of the Rutherford
Institute issued a direct-mail appeal with a copy of the work, parts of
the illustration blacked out. He warned readers: "I hesitated sending a
copy of this 'hate-art' to you for fear of offending you.... I suggest
you might not want to look at the drawing nor read the copy. It is
certainly not suitable for family viewing. That is why I have folded and
glued it closed with a caution written on the outside." In the letter
Whitehead requested financial support to pay the costs of filing a
lawsuit against the NEA: "I believe that The Rutherford Institute may
have to step in and take legal action if we are to put an end to the
NEA's anti-Christian bigotry."
- Results of incident
- Following the attack, the Powers of Desire collective began taking
precautions at their subsequent exhibitions in the form of press releases
and materials available for viewers, which explained the intentions of
their work. Powers of Desire member Renee Edgington said, "Since [the
Falwell attack] every time we've shown we've had problems [with
complaints about exhibits' contents]."
Source: Artistic Freedom Under Attack 1994