Factions from France’s political far-right brought the litigation against the contemporary art center because they objected to the contents of one of the Swiss artist’s semi-abstract paintings, which they believe depicts the sexual abuse of a child., portrays a scene of forced fellation, which the Swiss artist intended as a denunciation of sexual crimes used as a weapon of war.
The judge’s decision hinged on the fact that she felt the museum took appropriate measures to warn visitors of the sensitive content in the exhibition titled “Ma Pensée Serielle,” [My Serial Thought] by including sufficient explanatory texts, and having additional staff on hand to speak to visitors.. 3009 CAH/P 3029. Courtesy the artist, Galerie Jocelyn Wolff and Meyer Riegger Berlin/Karlsruhe. Photo by François Doury.
The debate rose to new heights last week, when the French culture minister Rima Abdul Malak was forced to defend the artist and her work in the French parliament. Far-right MP Caroline Parmentier made an impassioned plea for the culture ministry to intervene and remove the work.
She also argued that the fact that the artist and museum made additional explanatory statements after the controversy ignited suggests that they were not clear enough to begin with. “If the painting is so problematic—as they seem to suggest—then why not respond properly and make it inaccessible to minors?” Le Gouvello asked. The lawyer said that she and fellow plaintiffs are “not against freedom of expression,” but simply want one painting removed. “If one wants to denounce horrors, that’s fine.
“The work, titled fuck abstraction!, portrays a scene of forced fellation…” Odd what passes for art these days.