To protest the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery censoring David Wojnarowicz’s video art piece after being bullied by the GOP, a Hide/Seek exhibit visitor screened A Fire in My Belly on an iPad hanging from his neck.
As one of many reactions to the disgraceful censorship, it was a clever DIY protest and a most benevolent application of Apple techie-bling. It didn’t end well.
First, the security guards intimidated visitors from watching the “censored” piece by the late downtown NYC artist, or from picking up info flyers. Eventually, the iPad holder and his videographer were accosted by a wobbling horde of guards, forced down and handcuffed.
They were kicked out of the museum and banned for life, although a Smithsonian spokeperson reveals and even more disturbing development: The museum doesn’t have that authority — it was “entirely the business of the DC police.”
Good news: Manhattan’s New Museum is joining nationwide censorship protest by screening A Fire in My Belly in their lobby, free and on view for everyone.
just a taste of where we are headed. i'm getting frightened for our future.
DC has 3 separate police entities. Federal cops-who wear white. They will drive past a fist fight if it's not happening on federal property proper. Metro PD-regular cops who wear blue. You can talk your way out of minor charges as they rather not do the paper work. And Metro cops-they wear brown. They will arrest you for anything (because they are bored) as long as it's within a certain distance from Metro property. So I bet it was the federal cops that issued the ban.