The discomfort generated among Catholic groups and the Archdiocese of León by the “Iconoclasm” exhibition, two days after its inauguration, led the University of Guanajuato (UG) to close an exhibit featuring religious symbols created by Visual Arts student Edder Damián Martínez.
Arguing that the exhibition represented a lack of respect and an offense to Catholics, conservative groups in the state and the Archdiocese of León itself demanded that the UG withdraw the display, which featured several representations of Christ crucified, but with interventions that show him upside down, wearing a ballerina tutu, with the symbol of Judaism on his chest, wearing sanitary napkins, and displaying the LGBT flag.
Through a press release, the University of Guanajuato announced that it was “terminating early” the exhibition, which was conceived by the student as part of a final project.
By signing the institutional motto “The truth will set you free,” the University of Guanajuato affirmed that the institution maintains its “commitment to being a plural, inclusive, and respectful space, where the construction of knowledge, academic freedom, and social peace always prevail.”
The decision to censor the exhibition motivated students in the Bachelor of Visual Arts program to demonstrate at the UG’s main building. They even attempted to enter the Jesús Gallardo gallery, where the exhibition was being held, but its doors were closed.
The students’ statement focused on their protest against censorship at the state’s public university.
“Today we denounce the censorship of a critical exhibition and the academicism that rewards the comfortable and punishes the experimental. The UG is public and secular; they cannot subordinate art to religious pressures or institutional marketing,” they argued during the protest.
They also claimed that their colleague, Edder Damián Martínez, was pressured to withdraw his exhibition from the gallery, which is located in the same building as the offices of the Rector General, Claudia Susana Gómez López.
“This violates the freedom of creation and the secular and pluralistic nature of the university space. Subjective offense is not objective harm; rather, this could have a chilling effect on the university, as we are not allowed to speak or open dialogues on religious and critical issues that are necessary in this space,” the protesters added.
From the position of the Archdiocese of León, freedom of expression and artistic creation are not justified “at the cost of violating the dignity of the sacred or hurting the feelings of the faithful.”
The Catholic Church in Guanajuato added to its demand, addressed to the UG authorities, a commitment that art exhibitions that offend or hurt the feelings of parishioners will no longer be allowed on the academic campus.
Through social media, the university community, students, and faculty lamented the measure taken by UG authorities, stating that the institution should be a space open to criticism and diverse expressions.
Source: proceso
