special offset lithograph poster signed by the artist with a black marker
dimensions: 22 3/4" x 30" / 76.2 x 57.79 cm
date: 1990
condition: Fair to good condition. The poster looks to have been framed at some point, like with glass that shattered, causing scratches and faint surface abrasion. There is a small hole at the upper right side of the black banner. Considering the damage that could have occurred, the overall condition is quite good, in my opinion. The colors are fantastic.
artist: Robbie Conal
One would think this is taken from today's headlines!
The image depicts Senator Jesse Helms's portrait centered on a painter's palette reflecting the homophobic policies championed by Helms, that censored art containing queer and anti-Christian content, "most infamously in the 1990 case of the NEA Four. The case resulted in the following requirement being attached to NEA funding:
"Public Law 101-121 requires that: None of the funds authorized to be appropriated for the National Endowment for the Arts ... may be used to promote, disseminate, or produce materials which in the judgement of the National Endowment for the Arts ... may be considered obscene, including but not limited to, depictions of sadomasochism, homoerotocism, the sexual exploitation of children, or individuals engaged in sex acts and which, when taken as a whole, do not have serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value." (Wikipedia, "NEA Four")" - ONE Archives's Post
The single "H" in Holy stands out in a Gothic font, as a way of calling attention to this archaic thinking that has always stemmed from the Church.
