The document discusses a case involving the removal of a painting from a Capitol building by Congressman Hunter. The painting by David Pulphus Jr. depicted a scene from his neighborhood that was deemed too sad or objectionable by some. Robin Hirsch-Steinhoff, director of Art St. Louis, states that the painting was selected based on its artistic merit alone by the judges. However, artwork in the Capitol must adhere to policies against contemporary political controversy or sensationalistic subjects. There is a debate over whether representative artworks should meet certain conceptual standards beyond just artistic skill.

1. Censorship
Case Studies

4. Denna Lawson, Sons of Cush, 2016

5. Denna Lawson, Ring Bearer, 2016

7. HenryTaylor, Ancestors of Genghis Khan with Black Man on Horse, 2015-17

8. HenryTaylor, A Happy Day for Us, 2017

10. #1

11. David Pulphus, Untitled #1, 2016 MO-1, Rep.William Lacy Clay

14. Was it right for Congressman
H u n t e r t o r e m o v e t h e
painting?
W a s t h e p a i n t i n g t o o
objectionable to be hung in a
capitol building?

17. David Pulphus PaintingVideo

20. “As far as David Pulphus, Jr.'s work, along with the 60 or
so other artworks that were submitted for judging by
myself and two other area artists/art professionals, we
were given the criteria to simply select the 5 pieces we
felt were the best in the exhibit and to select only one
artwork for Best of Show. That Best of Show hands-
down by us three Jurors/Judges went to that artwork.
What he depicted about what was going on in his own
neighborhood and city was sad--he was at the time, just
a teenager, and had seen too much already. It was a
really great artwork and really was Best in Show for
that particular judging.“

21. “Firstly, our choice was made on artistic merit. That was what we
were asked to do.
Also, understand that we were not told that we could not select an
artwork -- nothing was censored--so that artwork was up for
consideration with all of the others presented to us. Nobody knew
that there would be aftershock, basically--we simply thought that it
was the best artwork.
I was a Judge again for this year's show and we had a couple of
artworks that could be conceived as controversial, the one that we
selected was basically about hair, specifically the hard work that
goes into keeping a young woman of color's hair braided or
straight, and how that can be physically painful. The work was
wonderfully done, again, this was based on creativity and the skill of
the artwork.The second thing that adds to the skill and technique is
the imagery and what it means. All of those things made this piece
and David Pulphus, Jr.'s work the best in the exhibit.”
- Robin Hirsch-Steinhoff, Director of Art St. Louis

22. Artwork must adhere to the policy of the House Office
Building Commission (the Commission). In accordance with
this policy, exhibits depicting subjects of contemporary
political controversy or a
sensationalistic or gruesome nature are not allowed. Each
Member of Congress will be required to submit a Letter of
Support confirming that the Member has determined that
the winning artwork adheres to the Commission’s policy.
However, if another Member of Congress requests review
of any artwork for compliance with the Commission’s
policy, the final decision regarding the artwork’s
suitability for display will be made by the Commission.
While it is not the intent to censor any artwork, we do
wish to avoid artwork that is potentially inappropriate for
display in this highly travelled area
leading to the Capitol.

23. Do you agree or disagree with
the court’s ruling?
Should the representative
artworks meet a certain
conceptual standard, not just
based on artistic merit or skill?