When L.A. County supervisors laid eyes on Kienholz's sculpture of a drunken couple making out in a car — a week before the opening of a 1966 exhibition at LACMA — they labeled the artwork "revolting" and "blasphemous," urged museum officials to remove it and threatened to cut their salaries when they refused. The show opened on time, with a long line of viewers and the door of the car closed. But guards stationed at "Back Seat Dodge '38" opened the door periodically, allowing patient visitors to peek inside.
Sunday, June 04, 2006
SOME PEOPLE CALL THIS ART . . . BUT I CALL IT HUMOR
When L.A. County supervisors laid eyes on Kienholz's sculpture of a drunken couple making out in a car — a week before the opening of a 1966 exhibition at LACMA — they labeled the artwork "revolting" and "blasphemous," urged museum officials to remove it and threatened to cut their salaries when they refused. The show opened on time, with a long line of viewers and the door of the car closed. But guards stationed at "Back Seat Dodge '38" opened the door periodically, allowing patient visitors to peek inside.
Arthur, if the car's occupants had wanted the door closed, they would have closed it. The "offended observer" standard is screwing everything up.
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