ICYMI: Artists Defend Painter Of Controversial Emmett Till Work

WEST VILLAGE, NY — The back-and-forth over a controversial painting of Emmett Till that debuted at the Whitney museum continued this month, as a host of prominent artists came to defense of the painter behind the protested work.

The painting debuted earlier this year at the biennial exhibit of the Whitney Museum of American Art. American artist Dana Schutz contributed the work, titled "Open Casket," which is inspired by photographs from Emmett Till's open casket funeral in 1955. The black 14-year-old was murdered in one of the nation's most notorious lynchings. The piece quickly spurred controversy when the Whitney Biennial opened in March, with many activists and artists criticizing the work and calling for its removal. Critics said that Schutz, who is white, didn't have the authority to speak for the black community or profit professionally from their pain. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

"I feel like she doesn’t have the privilege to speak for black people as a whole or for Emmett Till’s family," said Parker Bright, an African-American artist who staged peaceful protests in front of the painting at the Whitney.

The Whitney declined calls to remove the work.

Now, months after the the painting first debuted at the Whitney, the controversy has followed Schutz to another city and another exhibit. Activists in Boston have demanded that the Institute of Contemporary Art cancel an ongoing collection of Schutz's work. "Open Casket" is not included in the collection. Community members asked the ICA to pull the entire show in a July 25 letter, but museum officials have said the show will continue as planned. The exhibit is scheduled to run through Nov. 26.

A group of prominent artists, including Marina Abramovic, have now waded into the debate, which has quickly spawned a larger discussion about what work different artists have the right or authority to depict. About 80 members of the National Academy of Arts published an open letter defending Schutz and her right to free expression.

"As members of the National Academy, we would like to voice our unequivocal support for Dana Schutz, who was recently excoriated by a group of Boston artists who were demanding that her current exhibition at the ICA in Boston be canceled, a demand meant to penalize Schutz, the artist behind Open Casket, a controversial painting featured at the 2017 Whitney Biennial, which draws on the well-known photograph of Emmett Till lying disfigured in his casket," the artists wrote in the letter. "It is also of the utmost importance to us that artists not perpetrate upon each other the same kind of intolerance and tyranny that we criticize in others."

"Open Casket" is no long on display at the Whitney. The museum's biennial exhibit closed June 11.

Read Patch's previous coverage of this story here:

• Emmett Till Painting At The Whitney Museum Sparks Protests
• Protesters Ask Museum To Close Show By Emmett Till Artist After Whitney Exhibit

Lead image credit: AP Photo/Alina Heineke.