Judge Hears Pleas on Sex in Art Exhibit
Supporters and opponents of an exhibit of the late Robert Mapplethorpe’s sexually graphic photographs rallied today outside a courthouse where a judge heard pleas to protect the show from censorship.
About 500 supporters marched about 10 blocks through downtown, ending at the steps of the Hamilton County Courthouse. They were met by about 100 people protesting tonight’s scheduled opening of the exhibit. Police kept the two sides apart.
The supporters chanted for freedom of expression and carried a banner that read: “If You Give Artists Freedom of Expression, Soon Every American Will Want It.”
Opponents carried signs that read, “We Want Decency in Cincinnati” and “Calling Pornography Art Does Not Make It So.”
The Contemporary Arts Center asked a Hamilton County municipal judge to prevent local authorities from filing criminal charges or taking any other action involving photographs showing sexual or sadomasochistic acts.
More than 3,000 museum members were expected to attend a special preview tonight. The exhibit is scheduled to open to the public Saturday.
City and county officials asked Judge Edward Donnellon to dismiss a lawsuit by the museum, which wanted a jury to decide whether the photographs violated local obscenity laws. Dismissal of the lawsuit would allow authorities to intervene.
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