The Spanish Masters Exhibition at the San Diego Museum of Art does not include Goya’s famed series “The Horrors of War.” These graphic descriptions of castration, rape and dismemberment have been deemed by arts leaders as too disturbing to be shown in public. The California State Bar has taken a landmark step toward changing this tradition. Its art show judges have just granted a First Place award to a ceramic which portrays a mythical, naked, hermaphrodite giving birth to Siamese twins. These judges were lawyers presenting the California State Bar’s “Bench and Bar” art exhibition at the Bar’s 84th Annual Meeting in Long Beach. The piece honored was “Baphomet has a Baby” by Robert Crook of Pasadena.
Members of the California State Bar have often set precedents that have influenced decision makers around the world. Time will tell if this decision will also influence actual cases heard in courts here and elsewhere. The art show judges’ decision, in the context of all top three awards being graphic nudes, is making a pretty strong statement that members of the California Bar take the Supreme Court’s March 2011 ruling on the First Amendment very seriously. In the landmark ruling, the Supreme Court determined that the Freedom of Expression protections of the First Amendment have top priority.
No one has actually purchased the controversial nude, which is priced at $300. It is truly unique, with oversized udders and male and female genitalia all on one green creature -- just in time for Halloween. It tied for first place with another nude, a figure called “Old Man on a Stool.” This provocative depiction of aging as an episode of public indecency is sure to enrage the entire leadership of both the Senior Olympics and AARP. If the goal of art is to stimulate discussion, this art is right on target.
Second place was also awarded to a nude. This was a classical pose, reminiscent of classics at the Renoir nudes exhibited at the LA County Museum of Art in its Spring 2010 special exhibition. The painting by Theresa Muley of Dublin extols the female body as a series of graceful curves. Not to be outdone, many other attorneys demonstrated their skills at portraying female nudes. Azar Eilihu of Los Angeles has done this with notable talent and good taste in “Dreams” and “La Femme Couchee.” This is a helpful reminder that artistic presentations of the human figure without the distraction of clothing have had an important place in art history and that artists with talent can honor this tradition.
This exhibition is open to the public on the Ground Floor of the Long Beach Convention Center now through September 18. Parents taking their children to the “For Your Health” fitness expo taking place in the adjacent hall may never have another opportunity to show their children art with this pedigree.
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