#More Bush censorship
BVallely
Artists for Clinton
California censorship sinks Clinton sculpture.
By K. Lloyd Billingsley, an author and journalist in Sacramento
August 20, 2001 8:00 a.m.
Bill Clinton carried California, a state that is now giving him special
protection. The California State Fair has banned the exhibition of an
award-winning sculpture about Bill Clinton and one of his employees.
The work, made entirely of recycled materials, and without any government
money, shows Bill Clinton lying in repose in a bathtub, accompanied by Monica
Lewinsky, who once toiled as an intern in the White House. She was apparently a
hard worker who performed tasks above and below the call of duty for her boss,
the 42nd President of the United States. The sculpture, titled "Loose Lips Sink
Ships," is by Peter Langenbach, a middle-school art teacher in the Bay Area. He
entered "Loose Lips" at the Napa County Fair, in upscale wine country, and came
away with a best-in-show award. More laurels were to follow. The California
State Fair, a huge event in the capital, Sacramento, gave the sculpture its
first-place award for three-dimensional sculptures. But then, a week before the
Fair kicked off, officials banned "Loose Lips."
Brian May, an assistant general manager, explained to reporters that "the
exhibit could be offensive to some people and inappropriate for young
children." No fewer than five representatives of the Fair ruled "Loose Lips"
unfit for exhibition, particularly because of "the location of Monica Lewinsky
to the overall position of the president." In this, the sculptor was simply
striving for verisimilitude, giving the work educational value.
During the actual events of the recent presidency, many complained it was
difficult to explain the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal to students. Now art imitates
life. This sculpture shows how even someone with the mindset of an 18-year-old,
can become president. As for the material being "offensive," it hardly holds a
monopoly.
As the sculptor pointed out, "people were offended by the situation — the
actual event." So it makes perfect sense that a work of art based on the event
would be offensive. The State Fair itself, with its noise, traffic, and drunks,
is offensive to many people. So are songs that win Grammy awards, and films
that win Oscars.
Whenever a banning like this takes place, or anyone objects to a publicly
funded work satirizing Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary, the chattering classes
proclaim that the purpose of art is to shock us, make us think. But had the
California State Fair banned an award-winning satirical work about Ronald
Reagan or George W. Bush, members of the "art community," would have protested
the Fair for censorship. But the Sacramento art establishment uttered not a
peep and, aside from one short news piece the media passed on the story. The
sculptor, curiously, is not pressing the case but he does have other avenues.
Mr. Langenbach could donate his educational, award-winning work to a museum.
Or, he could apply for a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and
take "Loose Lips Sink Ships" on a national tour.