---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 1999 15:05:41 -0500 (EST)
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The controversy over the Brooklyn Museum's display of the
elephant dung and porn covered "Holy Virgin Mary" has come up on
CAS a few times. Although it is OT, I wanted to point out that
Clinton-style lying is spreading. In this case the lying is about
the profit motive for the Brooklyn Museum's display of
sacrilegious "art." The hidden support by the owner of the
painting and others just broke as the top story on the front page
of today's New York Times. I used details of the lying--some of
it in court documents--that were buried in the middle of the very
long Times story for an email I just sent to the Director of the
Museum, Dr. Arnold Lehman. I am reproducing the letter below--if
any CASers care to let the folks at the Brooklyn Museum of "Art"
know what we think about lying to the public and in court, the
BMA email address is: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Steve MacDonald
<< To: Dr. Arnold L. Lehman, Director, Brooklyn Museum of Art
CC: Mr. Peter B. Trippi, Vice President, Brooklyn Museum of Art
From: Stephen MacDonald
Date: October 31, 1999
Dr. Lehman, on October 21, 1999, in response to my objections
to your display of the egregious "Holy Virgin Mary"
dung/pornographic cutout painting, you wrote to me offering a
free ticket to the Brooklyn Museum of Art's "Sensation" Exhibit.
This morning, I have read in a front page New York Times article
that BMA Vice President Peter Trippi falsely told the press
earlier this month that the "Sensation" Exhibit had no financial
support from Mr. Saatchi--the person who, as owner of "Holy
Virgin Mary" and all other items in the exhibit, stood to profit
most from this display of "artistic" contempt for Catholics. As
revealed by the Times, Mr. Saatchi had, at the time of that false
statement to the press by BMA's representative, paid BMA $50,000
and, apparently in addition, had agreed to pay tens of thousands
of dollars to cover all BMA's insurance costs.
When Mr. Trippi wrote you and other BMA officials to report
on his lie to the press, his note said "I hope this works for
you." Dr. Lehman, the lie didn't just work for you--you wrote
back to Mr. Trippi: "Peter--great." As noted in today's NY Times,
you underlined "great" twice. Dr. Lehman, you should resign
immediately, and before you do so you should require Mr. Trippi
to resign and you should, as I urged you to do in my September
26, 1999 letter, cancel the "Sensation" Exhibit. Even if you
promptly take all these actions, it will take a long time for The
Brooklyn Museum of Art to recover from the damage you have
caused.
As also indicated in today's New York Times, your actions
have caused damage to every other institution you have draw into
this mess. You are, of course, costing all New York City
taxpayers enormous legal costs and are likewise draining BMA's
resources with you attempts in court to block further damaging
disclosures -- disclosures such as your above-described
communications with Mr. Trippi. Another example comes from
today's Times: Christie's, the auction house which Mr. Saatchi
employed for a recent $2.7 million auction focused on the
"Sensation" "artists," gave BMA $50.0000 for the "Sensation"
Exhibit. Christie's was reported in today's Times to have "said
in court papers that the $50,000 was insignificant compared with
Christie's donations to other museums." The Times goes on to say
: "But according to an internal Christie's memorandum, the
$50,000 'represents Christie's most significant financial
commitment to an external exhibition to date.'" Lying to the
press and public, filing false papers in court--Dr. Lehman, your
anti-Catholic bias is leading you and those you are taking down
with you to create quite a legacy.
On a personal note, let me respond to your October 21st
invitation to me to call your personal "direct line" for my free
ticket to the "Sensation" Exhibit. Dr. Lehman, I wrote to you on
September 26th to express my outrage that BMA was displaying a
depiction of the Mother of God which had been "decorated" with
elephant dung and with cutouts from pornographic magazines--the
cutouts were photographs of genitalia. Dr. Lehman, it is yet
another indication of your unfitness for the office of BMA
Director that you would ever suggest that a free ticket could
alleviate my concerns. Was I to examine the elephant dung more
closely so as to discover unique qualities distinguishing it from
other excrement? Did you suppose that I thought there would be
one hundred pornographic magazine cutouts--so that I would be
comforted to learn that there are only a dozen or so pornographic
pictures surrounding the Blessed Virgin Mary? Dr. Lehman, I
decline, with a shudder, your insulting invitation to examine
more closely the objects you are lying, and causing others to
lie, to the public about.
Since I make several references to Mr. Trippi in this letter,
I will be forwarding a copy of this letter to him to urge him to
resign from his position as Vice President of BMA. Please also
convey to the Board of the Brooklyn Museum that I hope they
follow the advice of Dr. Marie Malaro, of George Washington
University's graduate program in museum studies. Dr. Malaro is
quoted in today's New York Times as saying of the BMA Board: "If
I was on that board, I'd either resign or have the heads of all
the staff who are involved." >>
=================================================================
Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
*Mike Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day.
=================================================================
325 West End Avenue
New York, New York 10023
To: Dr. Arnold L. Lehman
CC: Mr. Peter B. Trippi
From: Stephen MacDonald
Date: October 31, 1999
Dr. Lehman, on October 21, 1999, in response to my objections to your
display of the egregious "Holy Virgin Mary" dung/pornographic cutout
painting, you wrote to me offering a free ticket to the Brooklyn Museum of
Art's "Sensation" Exhibit. This morning, I have read in a front page New
York Times article that BMA Vice President Peter Trippi falsely told the
press earlier this month that the "Sensation" Exhibit had no financial
support from Mr. Saatchi--the person who, as owner of "Holy Virgin Mary" and
all other items in the exhibit, stood to profit most from this display of
"artistic" contempt for Catholics. As revealed by the Times, Mr. Saatchi had,
at the time of that false statement to the press by BMA's representative,
paid BMA $50,000 and, apparently in addition, had agreed to pay tens of
thousands of dollars to cover all BMA's insurance costs.
When Mr. Trippi wrote you and other BMA officials to report on his lie to
the press, his note said "I hope this works for you." Dr. Lehman, the lie
didn't just work for you--you wrote back to Mr. Trippi: "Peter--great." As
noted in today's NY Times, you underlined "great" twice. Dr. Lehman, you
should resign immediately, and before you do so you should require Mr. Trippi
to resign and you should, as I urged you to do in my September 26, 1999
letter, cancel the "Sensation" Exhibit. Even if you promptly take all these
actions, it will take a long time for The Brooklyn Museum of Art to recover
from the damage you have caused.
As also indicated in today's New York Times, your actions have caused
damage to every other institution you have draw into this mess. You are, of
course, costing all New York City taxpayers enormous legal costs and are
likewise draining BMA's resources with you attempts in court to block further
damaging disclosures -- disclosures such as your above-described
communications with Mr. Trippi. Another example comes from today's Times:
Christie's, the auction house which Mr. Saatchi employed for a recent $2.7
million auction focused on the "Sensation" "artists," gave BMA $50.0000 for
the "Sensation" Exhibit. Christie's was reported in today's Times to have
"said in court papers that the $50,000 was insignificant compared with
Christie's donations to other museums." The Times goes on to say : "But
according to an internal Christie's memorandum, the $50,000 'represents
Christie's most significant financial commitment to an external exhibition to
date.'" Lying to the press and public, filing false papers in court--Dr.
Lehman, your anti-Catholic bias is leading you and those you are taking down
with you to create quite a legacy.
On a personal note, let me respond to your October 21st invitation to me
to call your personal "direct line" for my free ticket to the "Sensation"
Exhibit. Dr. Lehman, I wrote to you on September 26th to express my outrage
that BMA was displaying a depiction of the Mother of God which had been
"decorated" with elephant dung and with cutouts from pornographic
magazines--cutouts were photographs of genitalia. Dr. Lehman, it is yet
another indication of your unfitness for the office of BMA Director that you
would ever suggest that a free ticket could alleviate my concerns. Was I to
examine the elephant dung more closely so as to discover unique qualities
distinguishing it from other excrement? Did you suppose that I thought there
would be one hundred pornographic magazine cutouts--so that I would be
comforted to learn that there are only a dozen or so pornographic pictures
surrounding the Blessed Virgin Mary? Dr. Lehman, I decline, with a shudder,
your insulting invitation to examine more closely the objects you are lying,
and causing others to lie, to the public about.
Since I make several references to Mr. Trippi in this letter, I will be
forwarding a copy of this letter to him to urge him to resign from his
position as Vice President of BMA. Please also convey to the Board of the
Brooklyn Museum that I hope they follow the advice of Dr. Marie Malaro, of
George Washington University's graduate program in museum studies. Dr. Malaro
is quoted in today's New York Times as saying of the BMA Board: "If I was on
that board, I'd either resign or have the heads of all the staff who are
involved."
