American newspaper - gifted article.
https://wapo.st/3oZwnnS“There is nothing wrong with the human body in and of itself,” Carrasquilla said while visiting “David” on Friday, according to a statement from the museum. She likened the setting to a church, remarking on the “purity” and “humanness” of the sculpture. Galleria director Cecilie Hollberg said she was delighted to introduce Carrasquilla to “David,” which she described as representing the religious principle of good triumphing over evil — and, she reiterated, “nothing to do with pornography.”
Carrasquilla’s former employer, Tallahassee Classical School, is following a curriculum from the conservative Christian institution Hillsdale College in Michigan, and her husband has described her as a “strong evangelical Christian.” The chair of the Florida school’s board said there were several issues with the former principal, including not notifying parents ahead of time that their children would be shown images of “David” — and that the parents believed the material was “controversial” and not age-appropriate for their children, The Post reported.
Her firing is fallout from the freaks following DeSantis and Hillsdale College.
“Calling the ‘David’ pornographic says more about that particular viewer than the art object,” she said. “Most people are able to separate an aesthetic response from a sexual one.”
The idea that an ancient marble statue would cause desire “seems a bit odd,” said Nicola Beisel, a professor of sociology at Northwestern University. But she also raises the question: If it did cause desire, what’s wrong with that?
To her, the controversy reflects ongoing culture wars in Florida, where the restrictions on teaching gender identity and sexuality have drawn outrage from LGBTQ advocates and education experts. It’s notable, Beisel said, that desire aroused by a male body would presumably be ascribed to a woman, a gay man or a trans person.
Claudia LaMalfa, an art history professor at the American University of Rome, said “David” is a fundamental piece of arts education that shows “a genius at work.” The debate around its nudity reflects something greater at stake, she said.
“If Michelangelo’s ‘David’ can no longer be used to ask young students to think,” she said, “then the modern democratic system of teaching fails.”
Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2023 6:56 pm