Detroit Free Press - December 2, 1999

Letters to the Free Press:

Thanks to Graham Beal, the new director of the Detroit Institute of Arts, for showing some common sense by deciding not to show the controversial exhibit by Jef Bourgeau. Regarding all the current fuss about censorship, Beal is not saying the artist cannot display his works; he simply said he couldn’t show them at the DIA. Not everything is worthy of DIA sponsorship.

If Bourgeau thinks his work is important, he should find another way to display it.

Beal has class. Thanks to him for standing on his principles.

I applaud the decision of Graham Beal to halt the exhibit of Jef Bourgeau. Art? It’s more like a contrived craft for publicity.

If Bourgeau wants to make the public aware of his version of 20^th Century art, perhaps he could submit his work to arts and crafts shows. I doubt they would have him.

Why should the DIA sponsor him with public tax money and private funding? Beal is accused of censorship by Bourgeau. Wasn’t it more of a matter of good taste and judgment?

Graham Beal is to be commended for his decision to close a controversial exhibit by a Rochester artist.

Of all the influences that have rotted our culture, we should not have to accept garbage as normal.

I agree with Jef Bourgeau when he states that the closing of his exhibit is censorship. Who named DIA director Graham Beal God? Even if, as Beal claimed, the exhibit will cause offense to important parts of our community, I believe it is the artist’s right to express whatever ideas he or she may have through any sort of medium, no matter how controversial.

Even if the DIA has an even greater responsibility to the public, that does not translate to saying the freedom of expression should be suppressed. There is room for compromise.

If the public was to be protected from being offended, a simple disclaimer could be presented before entering the exhibit. By canceling the exhibit, Beal has created a disservice not only to the artists but to the public also.

Congratulations to the Detroit Arts Commission and the search committee that hired Graham Beal to direct the Detroit Institute of Arts. He passed his first test with flying colors.

I applaud the decision of the new director of the DIA to cancel the exhibit of artist Jef Bourgeau. Graham Beal clearly perceives that political statements with little or no artistic merit have no place in a museum.

Some years ago, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell-Holmes Jr. said that freedom of speech does not extend to shouting "fire" in a crowded theatre. The same rule applies to certain other four letter words as well.

Bravo, Graham Beal! Stand your ground. You are not alone.

If artists such as Jef Bourgeau wish to explore the course of 20^th Century art with such works of controversy, let them seek out a patron and venue willing to foot the bill and not exploit Michigan taxpayers and members of the DIA.

Hurray for chief curator David Penney of the DIA in his stand against the so-called art of Jef Bourgeau. If Bourgeau spent more than two days collecting the junk he calls art, instead of the two years he claims it took, he seriously wasted his time.

Those who accuse the DIA of censorship can always views Bourgeau’s collection simply by driving up to his studio in Pontiac.

No one has the right to defile our father – for art or any other reason. As Christians, we believe we are children of God and that Jesus is our father. Every Christian should not accept his being dishonored by any self-appointed artist.

Jef Bourgeau knew his art would not stand on its own merit or he wouldn’t have resorted to the exploitation of our father and the use of controversy to promote it.

We congratulate DIA director Graham Beal for his thoughtfulness, judgment and courage.