This is what happens when an art museum caves in to political pressure–artists and foundations decide to walk away from you. The Smithsonian Institution pulled a an AIDS-themed video from an exhibition after pressure from professional blowhard William Donohue and some Republican members of Congress. As a result, a number of artists and foundations are asking for their own work to be removed or are pledging to no longer support the Smithsonian financially.
There are a number of reasons why the Smithsonian’s decision was a bad one–museums should stand for artistic freedom for a start–but here’s the biggest one in my view. There’s no upside to caving in to either Donohue or the Republican members of Congress who attacked them. William Donohue is an outrage manufacturer, with no real influence. His greatest skill involves getting on television and acting like people care what he has to say, and there is literally nothing that any respectable art museum could do to get him on their side. And even if he were, it wouldn’t matter, because no one pays any attention to him.
And as far as the Congressional pressure is concerned, well, we’re talking about a group that runs for office on the promise of cutting spending, and one of the things that’s high on their list of cuts–even though it would make next to no difference in the overall budget–is funding for the arts. Caving in to those people won’t stop them from demagoguing you, but it will cost you support from the people who actually care about the arts.
