Artist: Tom Sachs
Confronting Bodies: Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, and a local radio broadcaster.
Date of Action: 1994
Specific Location: New York, New York
Description of Artwork: The sculpture, "Hello Kitty Nativity Scene," depicts a traditional nativity scene, however replaces the traditional characters with pop-culture representations. In the piece, the three kings were replaced with Bart Simpson figures and the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus with Hello Kitty dolls.
Description of Incident: The sculpture was entered into an auction sponsored by Barney's department store in New York City. Hundreds of artists' works were displayed in Barney's front window. After two weeks the president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, William Donohue, warned the store to removed the sculpture and contacted the media, accusing the work of blasphemy. Barney's recieved hundreds of phone calls calling for the piece's removal following the radio announcement.
Results of Incident: Sachs' sculpture was removed from the window display. Barney's Senior Vice President for Creative Services, Simon Doonan, took resonsibility for the display, calling it his "error in judgement."
Source: Artistic Freedom Under Attack, 1995
Submitted By: NCAC