Word: exhibition
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...early 20th century cathouses, with nice little Zagat-style reviews (the "nice but pushy" madam's "notion of submission is to keep you waiting for an hour"). And visitors will find the stories of Manhattan sex scandals good reading in a tabloidy, microfiche kind of way, but the exhibit can get awfully soporific, considering that it's about sex in New York City. There's a cover from a sixth edition of Margaret Sanger's Family Limitation and a display of Wonder Woman comic books under the rubric of lesbian pornography, which is particularly lame when you consider that someone...
Even the good stuff is shown in that museum way that kills the fun. The items are presented in such a detached fashion, they lose all sense of purpose: a glass-encased exhibit of S&M paraphernalia looks more like a human-rights group presentation of Syrian secret-police torture instruments from the '70s. The porn they do show--stag films from 1915 projected on a wall, videos of '70s and '80s porn stars--are recontextualized into some strange National Geographic special. Even the sober-looking museum guards aren't impressed. "It's calmer here," says Jasmine Pallet, 22, comparing...
...early 20th century cathouses, with nice little Zagat-style reviews (the "nice but pushy" madam's "notion of submission is to keep you waiting for an hour"). And visitors will find the stories of Manhattan sex scandals good reading in a tabloidy, microfiche kind of way, but the exhibit can get awfully soporific, considering that it's about sex in New York City. There's a cover from a sixth edition of Margaret Sanger's Family Limitation and a display of Wonder Woman comic books under the rubric of lesbian pornography, which is particularly lame when you consider that someone...
...Even the good stuff is shown in that museum way that kills the fun. The items are presented in such a detached fashion, they lose all sense of purpose: a glass-encased exhibit of S&M paraphernalia looks more like a human-rights group presentation of Syrian secret-police torture instruments from the '70s. The porn they do show - stag films from 1915 projected on a wall, videos of '70s and '80s porn stars - are recontextualized into some strange National Geographic special. Even the sober-looking museum guards aren't impressed. "It's calmer here," says Jasmine Pallet, 22, comparing...
...concept of the inevitability of human conflict and violence seems to be a particularly insensitive message at a time like this. It is almost offensive to assert--whether explicitly or implicitly--that attacks that kill innocent civilians by the thousands are simply part of an immutable historical continuum. The exhibit is not upsetting for what it shows, but for the inappropriate message it offers. Even if Ristelhueber is able to chronicle one disaster after another with artistic detachment, she (and the MFA) should take into account the need at this time for emotional response and moral valuation...