Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 28, 1990 TAG: 9006280116
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
"This piece of artwork is not obscene," U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer said after a four-hour hearing on the merits of the painting at the 1708 East Main Gallery.
Julyen Norman, the gallery's executive director, and Carlos Gutierrez-Solana, the artist, had filed a lawsuit to block Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Joseph D. Morrissey from prosecuting.
"We're relieved and we're delighted," Norman said. He said the window will be uncovered and the exhibit will continue through July 8.
Gutierrez-Solana, a New York artist, said he was confident that his work would not be judged obscene.
"It just feels real good to have a judge sit up there and vindicate that," he said. He said he hoped the ruling would send a message to judges and other government officials around the country who have been asked to decide whether certain artworks are obscene.
The plaintiffs said they reluctantly covered the nude painting in response to Morrissey's threats to prosecute. But the prosecutor said he merely discussed the work with the exhibit's co-sponsor, the Arts Council of Richmond Inc., and it agreed to cover the window painting.
The window display entitled "In Memoriam" is a tribute to three of Gutierrez-Solana's friends who died of AIDS in April. The painting on the window glass shows three nude men in various stages of arousal with harsh quotes directed at AIDS victims printed nearby. The display also contains quotes that allude to the suffering of AIDS patients.
Gutierrez-Solana testified that the work was not intended to be erotic.
"The piece is about intolerance," he said. "It's about grief. It's about rage."
Norman testified that Gutierrez-Solana was invited to create the window painting for an exhibit of artwork about controversial issues.
"I do believe that it has genuine artistic value," Norman said. "It addresses an issue of great concern."
by CNB