*** Haus der Kulturen der Welt: Forum1 Archive *** ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [Date]: Tue, 02 Nov 1999 22:40:05 +0100 [From]: olu oguibe [To]: Cultural Exchange via Internet [Subject]: Re: [forum1] discussion about sensation, NY as quite a few members have noticed, i have not been part of the conversations on the forum for a while, except as an invisible observer. thanks to all those who wrote to enquire after my wellbeing. i doubt that i'm choosing the right moment to reenter the conversations, but i thought i might share some of my views of the recent furore around my neighborhood museum. i have written twice on the matter, both times quietly and with no intention to become part of the raucus. both were contributions to small, discreet forums. i hope they are of some use here. meanwhile, may i point out that what is missing from the contributions that will follow--what i have not had sufficient time to look into in any appreciable detail--is the one fact that most respondents to the debacle over the exhibition of Mr. Saatchi's collection at the Brooklyn Museum have all glossed over, and that is the fact that the centre of the controversy, Mr. Ofili's image of the Virgin Mary, is a representation of a black female surrounded by female private parts cut from pornographic sources. back in the day, before political correctness became a fair target, something to be ashamed of, feminist criticism took a wonderfully reassuring, incisive look at such images and strategies of representation. feminism brought to our ways of seeing, a criticality that might have placed such juxtaposition under scrutiny--subjected it to a rigorous reading--and perhaps wondered whether, in addition to being a cheap shot at controversy and fame, Ofili's painting also tells us something about the artist's view of femininity itself, and black femininity in particular. unfortunately, it seems to me that as the century comes to an end, as the gains of the 1960s and 1970s are steadily reversed with the majority scared shitless of the red badge of political correctness, we are witnessing the death of criticality itself. only in these abominable circumstances could the image of a black female with one breast [made of elephant dung], surrounded by cropped female genitalia from _Black Tail_ men's pornographic magazine come to represent the cultural community's icon of battle against statutory and religious "intolerance". these are truly interesting times. it is sad when we lose our criticality on the excuse that we feel combatted. it just so happens that sometimes we, too, artists, critics, culture folks [who, by the way, are not necessarily cultured] are really no wiser than anyone else.