what is the spiritual america scandal involving brooke shields photos?
To the British tabloids, this was all shocking stuff – though New Yorkers were well used to such tactics. Ten years before Emin’s tent, Richard Prince’s “Spiritual America” – the artist’s “re-photograph” of a ten-year-old Brooke Shields emerging naked from a bath tub – caused the original “sensation”, and ushered in a decade of shocking artworks that were often branded as “publicity stunts”. Prince placed his “art work” in a gold frame and exhibited it prominently in an East Village gallery window. The scenario, which will be restaged by Tate Modern in their show, deeply unsettled the industry’s notion of what “art” should be – and by placing such “low” art in a “high” art space, the artist appeared to be casting a damning indictment on the whole endeavour. It was Koons’ “Made in Heaven” series that caused the biggest fuss of all, however. Reflecting on its inception nearly 20 years later, in his unobtrusive studio in New York’s Meat Packing District, the artist says the idea came from
LONDON – A provocative nude photograph of 10-year-old Brooke Shields on display at Tate Modern exhibition has attracted fury of child campaigners. The photograph by Richard Prince, a New York artist shows the actress standing naked in a bathtub, staring directly at the viewer, with a heavily-made up face and an oiled torso. The controversial photograph has been separated from the other exhibits and placed in another room behind a closed door. A notice on the door warns visitors that they may find the work “challenging”. The Tate consulted lawyers before including it in the exhibition, which opens on October 1. “As with any artwork that contains challenging imagery, Tate has sought legal advice and evaluated the situation,” the Telegraph quoted a Tate spokesman as saying. “Tate has taken measures to inform visitors of the nature of the work, providing information outlining the intentions of the artist,” he added. Prince’s work is actually a photograph of a photograph, originally taken b
