ARTnews  January 2000 (pg. 50)

The Three-Day Show

Detroit-  A dispute between Michigan installation artist Jef Bourgeau and the Detroit Institute of Arts has led to the sudden closing of “Art Until Now,” a series of installations designed to explore themes in contemporary art over the last century.  According to an agreement made two years ago, Bourgeau, who runs a Detroit-area exhibition space known for showing provocative art, was to put up at the museum one installation per week over a course of 12 weeks, running through this month.  But when the artist refused to discuss modifications of the initial installation, which contained explicit references to controversial contemporary artworks, the museum canceled the show.

The dispute arose on the opening day of the first Bourgeau installation, when a Detroit Institute of Arts curator raised concerns about the work to museum director Graham Beal.  The installation includes parts purported to be created by such artists as Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Jean-Michael Basquiat, and Andres Serrano (with and apple cider-filled apothecary jar meant to refer to the artist’s Piss Christ).  It also featured pieces called Bathtub Jesus, an anatomically correct Jesus wearing what appears to be a condom, and Nigger Toe, which shows a shelled Brazilian nut under a magnifying glass. 

Beal, who became director early last fall and was not involved in the original agreement with Bourgeau, expressed reservations about the presentation and asked the artist to discuss modifications.  Although the basic idea of the series was known to museum curators, Beal told ARTnews that they had not been informed of the contents of the first installation.  But the artist balked at making any changes, and the museum closed the show after its second day.  “I felt the artist was telling us what we have to exhibit,” Beal says.  “From my viewpoint as an ex-curator, it is the museum’s responsibility to plan very carefully, to have a clear rationale for what it is doing.  In this case that didn’t happen.”

“My art isn’t on trial here,” Bourgeau counters.  “Contemporary art is on trial.”  The artist, who likens the handling of his show to the recent controversy over “Sensation” at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, says that “such a forced closing not only narrows the gate, but, more directly, sets a dangerous precedent.”

While the cancellation took place shortly after the Brooklyn debate, Beal discounts any connection between the events.  “The art of the last then years has been particularly confrontational,” Beal says.  “Artists have been examining potent issues, and it is up to the museum to find a way to frame these issues in a way that is positive.”