"The idea of moral purity in the arts is a fantasy," Sebastian Smee writes. What can protests against corporate money funding museums and galleries achieve? And what else can activists do to change the status quo?
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'America’s art museums are becoming sites of protest, increasingly led by artists. This is putting museums and their financial backers under ethical scrutiny — a very good thing. But it also risks turning complex issues into self-congratulatory spectacles.
This past week, artists have been withdrawing their work from the Whitney Biennial to protest the presence of Warren B. Kanders on the Whitney Museum’s board. Kanders is the majority owner and CEO of Safariland. Tear gas supplied by Safariland has been used around the world, including last year — shockingly — against asylum seekers on the U.S.-Mexico border.
In an article titled “The Tear Gas Biennial” published last week in Artforum, activists Hannah Black, Ciarán Finlayson and Tobi Haslett called for artists in the biennial to withdraw their works. Within days, four artists heeded the call, citing the Whitney’s failure to respond “meaningfully” to calls for Kanders to leave the board. Four more artists with work in the show followed suit over the weekend.' ... Keep reading on The Washington Post