Is Art the Business of the Secret Service?
BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
A confrontation is brewing involving the U.S. Secret Service, a college art gallery, a controversial artist/curator, and now, international media outlets and assorted attorneys.
Shortly before the gallery opening of "Axis of Evil: The Secret History of Sin" last Thursday at Columbia College in Chicago, two Secret Service agents came to the gallery to ask questions and take photos. "Axis of Evil" is a provocative exhibit of mock postage stamp art that explores the question, "What is Evil?" and includes many disturbing images. Among the works prompting questions was artist Al Brandtner's "Patriot Act." It portrays President Bush with a gun pointed to his head in a style that parodies the typical American Flag and Presidential Portrait postal stamps.
According to The Chicago Sun-Times, Secret Service spokesman Brandon Bridgeforth commented, "We are doing some inquiries into the art exhibit. We're just doing some looking into it." The Associated Press reports, "Secret Service spokesman Tom Mazur would not say whether the inquiry had been completed or with whom the Secret Service had spoken, but he said no artwork had been confiscated. 'We need to ensure, as best we can, that this is nothing more than artwork with a political statement,' Mazur said."
According to the Associated Press, "For the past 10 years, [exhibit curator] Hernandez de Luna has created mock stamps and tried to get them through the mail; his works with real cancelation marks have sold for $2,000."
Michael Hernandez de Luna is a former Columbia College student and has several pieces of his own work in the show. Columbia College spokesperson Micki Leventhal commented, "We're an art school. Our position has always been and remains: We support freedom of speech, freedom of artistic expression and academic freedom."
BuzzFlash readers may recall that the "Axis of Evil" project, which also has had a Philadelphia showing, was conceived by Jim Swanson of Qualiatica Press. The book and DVD are available as a BuzzFlash premium. We also posted an interview about the project, "Jim Swanson Examines Good and Evil, Hitler and Terrorism, Art and Politics."
The "Axis of Evil" incident is not the first time that the Secret Service or FBI has investigated "art projects," as BuzzFlash has reported in the past.
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Secret Service visits art show at Columbia (The Chicago Sun-Times)
Secret
Service looks into art exhibit with political overtones (AP/Chicago
Tribune)
Secret
Service visits ‘Secret History of Sin': Stamp art exhibit asks, ‘What
is evil?' while feds ask for info (Columbia
Chronicle Online)
BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT