Miriam Cahn Painting Vandalized
Today we’re discussing an interesting case that talks about some things we’ve discussed here in the past; freedom of expression, intent vs. perception, and controversy. I don’t want to scoop myself so let’s just dive in.
Miriam Cahn
First, we need to get a little background on this controversial artist, Miriam Cahn. Cahn was born in Basel, Switzerland in 1949. She studied at Schule für Gestaltung Basel (Basel School of Design) from 1968-1973 and it was there that she became very involved in feminist and anti-nuclear movements. Throughout her life she has been involved in activism for causes that she feels strongly about, resulting in some controversial work. She was also known for using the human body to raise questions in the viewer about human existence, often using nudity to symbolize vulnerability.
Ma Pensée Sérielle
This is the name of the exhibit, which translates to My Serial Thought in English, that opened at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris in February 2023. It is the first major retrospective of Cahn’s work by a French gallery and the exhibit contains more than 200 pieces from 1980 to the present. As I’m sure you can anticipate, one painting, in particular, caused a lot of controversy basically as soon as the show opened, it’s titled fuck abstraction !. In a note about the show the curators wrote, “Miriam Cahn imagines new material incarnations of that which disturbs us, confronting us with that which we would prefer to ignore: here it looks us straight in the eye, in a bodily confrontation from which we cannot escape“ (O’Brien, 2023). So we already know it’s going to be an uncomfortable, but important experience.
As you can see the painting depicts a faceless man receiving fellatio from another person, kneeling with their hands bound behind their back. Definitely something uncomfortable to look at, but it’s meant to be. Cahn, herself and the Palais de Tokyo have made it clear that the painting is a commentary on human rights abuses in Ukraine, it was a response to the reports of murder and rape committed by Russian soldiers upon their invasion of Ukranian city Bucha in 2022. Despite this, some interpret the smaller person on their knees as a child and believe this painting is a depiction of pedophilia.
In March 2023, one month after the exhibit opened, a group of six conservative associations in France, led by the Association Juristes Pour L’Enfance (Lawyers for Childhood) filed a lawsuit against the Palais de Tokyo. In this lawsuit, they allege that by showing the artwork the gallery is violating the law against displaying pornographic images of minors.
Basically, as soon as the lawsuit was filed, a judge threw it out saying that it was clearly painted in response to the invasion of Bucha (as stated by the artist and the gallery), and it “cannot be understood outside of its context” (Dafoe, 2023). After this outcome, four of the plaintiffs appealed the decision but that case was also dismissed.
This whole situation elicited statements from members of the government as well as the artist herself. Cahn said, “they are not children, this painting deals with the way in which sexuality is used as a weapon of war, as a crime against humanity” (O’Brien, 2023). And Minister of Culture Rima Abdul Malak defended the painting as well saying, “Art can shock, you have to consider a work in its context and its context is the war crime here” (O’Brien, 2023). However, all of this explanation, support, and two court rulings didn’t seem to placate those who wanted the painting gone from public view. So someone decided to do something about it.
The Attack
On May 7, at around 3:30pm an elderly man entered the Palais de Tokyo. He made a beeline straight for fuck abstraction ! and pulled out a can of purple spray paint from inside a medicine bottle. He proceeded to spray as much paint on Cahn’s painting as he could before he was apprehended by gallery security and was removed from the premises by police.
Museum officials reported, after the vandalism, that the man was “unhappy with the sexual portrayal of a child and an adult presented in the painting” (O’Brien, 2023). Upon investigation, it appears that the man acted alone and he didn’t have any links to right-wing activist groups (since it was mostly right-wing media stirring up controversy and misinformation around this painting). This man’s name was not released but the museum reported that they intended to file a complaint for property damage and obstructing freedom of expression.
After the vandalism, the museum conferred with Cahn and the joint decision was made to keep the painting on display until the exhibit was scheduled to close, the next week. I wasn’t able to find a ton about what happened to it after the close of the exhibit on May 14 but I assume it’s being restored and will be ready to be displayed again soon.
France took the attack on freedom of expression very seriously with Minister of Culture Malak saying, “it’s a direct attack on freedom of expression, which is quite serious” (Greenberger, 2023). Even the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, tweeted about this, writing, “to attack a work is to attack our values. In France, art is always free and respect for cultural creation is guaranteed” (Dafoe, 2023). Powerful statement.
Works Cited
Dafoe, Taylor. “An Elderly Man Spray Painted a Miriam Cahn at a Paris Museum After Right-Wing Attempts to Censor it Failed”. ArtNet. 2023. https://news.artnet.com/art-world-archives/controversial-miriam-cahn-painting-vandalized-2297547
Greenberger, Alex. “Controversial Work at Paris’ Palais de Tokyo Sprayed with Purple Paint by ‘Unhappy’ Visitor”. Artnet News. 2023. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/miriam-cahn-painting-palais-de-tokyo-vandalized-1234666949/
O’Brien, Chris. “Controversial Miriam Cahn Painting Vandalised at Paris’ Palais de Tokyo Museum”. Forbes. 2023. https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisobrien/2023/05/29/controversial-miriam-cahn-painting-vandalized-at-paris-palais-de-tokyo-museum/?sh=68bb53291b4d