The Milwaukee Art Museum recently put on view Eggs Benedict, a work by local artist Niki Johnson. Gifted to MAM by community philanthropist and AIDS activist Joseph R. Pabst, the work is a simple portrait of Pope Benedict XIV. Well, not quite. Inspired by the pontiff’s 2009 statement, “…the [AIDS] problem cannot be resolved by the distribution of prophylactics: on the contrary they increase it,” the artist created the papal portrait using 17,000 colored condoms as her medium. Her purpose was to call attention to the AIDS epidemic in Africa and among disenfranchised people. As news of the acquisition spread, curiosity and controversy ensued. Global media coverage gave Milwaukee front-page status.
In response, MAM director Dan Keegan unwrapped the latex likeness ahead of schedule to allow an informed conversation. That, sadly, quickly became mired in distraction, with conservatives and clerics, in lockstep denunciation, vying to be more appalled-than-thou. Like the days when politicians called modern art degenerate, local opponents tried to kill the messenger (the artist, MAM and the donor) rather than acknowledge the significance of the message.
It would all be amusing were it not for the deadly impact of their blissful ignorance. But it should be of no surprise when the first and second estates rush to dutifully defend each other. They have no choice. To acknowledge the artist’s intent would be to indict themselves. So, rather than a long overdue mea culpa, they declared Eggs Benedict offensive and shameful. No one likes to admit their own shameful and offensive complicity in the deaths and suffering of HIV/AIDS victims.
As for the rubber rendering, from a distance it rather looks like any other official papal portrait or a souvenir postcard one might buy on Saint Peter’s Square. The front view appears as a knotted textile icon of Benedict, resplendent in his traditional fur-trimmed, brocade vestments. Viewed from the back, the image takes on a grotesque abstraction, reminiscent of Edvard Munch’s famous Scream.
But while the artist’s intent may have been to question religion’s role in undermining HIV prevention strategies in Africa, her statement is as much an immediate reality for Milwaukee. The Center for Disease Control found exploding HIV infection rates among certain city demographics, especially African American men between ages 15-29. Without massive intervention through education and prevention, the CDC concluded, even higher numbers were in the offing.
So one has to wonder why, in the face of such a crisis, the dissonant choir chose to focus on a peripheral and non-issue of the artwork’s perceived insult to Catholics. The real impact is the conversation Eggs Benedict has ignited about lives, the artist’s critique of papal bull and the policies of religions towards reproductive rights, poverty and the health realities of the 21st century. It is a clarion that relies on the collective courage of the artist, of Joe Pabst and the Milwaukee Art Museum, to serve the community through the power of art.
A panel discussion, “Art, AIDS, Religion and Censorship” is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 20 at MAM. I’m looking forward to see who attends...and who doesn’t.
