Helm's segment aired tonight.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-tvdailyshowjun27,0,4914265.story?coll=sfla-sports-headlinesDaily Show aims to turn Broward's Controversy exhibit into comedy
By Tom Jicha
TV/Radio Writer
June 27, 2005
Some reporters have a nose for news. The faux reporters of Comedy Central's Daily Show have a nose for the absurd. This isn't good news for the Fort Lauderdale art community, which is in for a lancing this week on the cable network. Daily Show correspondent Ed Helms came to town almost two weeks ago with an eye toward stirring additional controversy over the just-ended "Controversy" exhibit at the Broward Art Guild. Among the more than 50 pieces on display was Yahoo!, which included images of President Bush being sodomized, a man in a Muslim headdress, and an oil barrel. Another, Dominus Est Patri, depicted new Pope Benedict XVI, a German, surrounded by Nazi symbols, including swastikas.
"`Controversy,' of course, was controversial," Helm said, "so it was worth covering." There was also an ironic element made to order for the snarky Daily Show: One of those complaining loudest about the inappropriateness of Yahoo! was Michael Friedman, creator of Dominus Est Patri. Helm got to interview Friedman, Yahoo! painter Alfred Phillips and Susan Buzzi, executive director of the Broward Art Guild. Despite the rancor over the art works, "Everybody was great," Helm said. "It was a fun day because all the personalities are cool and they all have a point of view."
This doesn't mean his segment will be fun for them. Helms typically takes a smarmy approach and promises the segment on "Controversy" will not be an exception. "I will take a point of view, but it's not something I want to scoop," he said, declining to give details. The piece is tentatively scheduled for tonight, Helms said, but it could be bumped back a day or two if more inviting targets present themselves.
Tom Jicha can be reached at tjicha@sun-sentinel.com.
Related
http://www.expressgaynews.com/print.cfm?content_id=1571‘Controversy’ show lives up to its name
Art depicting Bush getting sodomized prompts complaint to county official
By PHIL LAPADULA
May. 27, 2005
The Broward Art Guild’s annual “Controversy” exhibit has lived up to its name this year. A gay artist’s entry that depicts President Bush in a compromising position has prompted a complaint to a county official and sparked a debate over art censorship. What makes the flap even more interesting is that the individual who made the complaint is another artist who has his own controversial piece in the show. That piece depicts the pope as having ties to Nazi Germany. The art work that prompted the complaint is a mixed-media painting by local gay artist Alfred Phillips. Titled “Yahoo,” Phillips’ piece depicts George Bush leaning over an oil barrel while being anally penetrated by an Arab who is cracking a whip. People are being crushed under the oil barrel.
Phillips: ‘ America is getting screwed’
“Bush symbolizes America, and as I see it, it’s America that is getting screwed,” Phillips said about his piece. “Bush’s face looks very focused. He’s thinking only about his mission — to get oil.” Phillips said the figures being crushed beneath the oil barrel represent American soldiers and Iraqi civilians. He added that he views Bush as a “naïve and tragic figure.” Phillips said he specializes in landscapes and seascapes but agreed to do the Bush piece “because the theme of the show is ‘controversy.’” “I think as an artist, I should have a voice,” Phillips said. “Art is about the only voice we have now.” But Michael Friedman, a long-time member of the Broward Art Guild and a disabled Navy veteran, said Phillips’ piece “went too far.” He called Mary Becht, director of the county’s Cultural Affairs Division, to complain about it. “I think it’s really vile,” Friedman said. He said his objections to the piece “had nothing to do with it being critical of Bush.”
Friedman: Depicting sodomy is ‘poor taste’
“It has to do with it depicting sodomy in a public place,” Friedman said. “I thought that was very poor taste.” Friedman was also concerned that children who take art classes at the guild could be exposed to the painting. When he made the complaint, he said he didn’t know that the guild’s executive director had scheduled the “Controversy” show at a time when no children’s classes are scheduled at the guild. Friedman added that he also objected to the painting’s depiction of a U.S. president being anally penetrated. “I would object
of any sitting president,” Friedman said. In addition, Friedman thinks the guild has been “going overboard” with gay art lately. He noted that he has “lots of gay friends” and even sponsored a gay photographer who wanted to join the guild. But he doesn’t want to see the guild dominated by one group’s art, he said.
Poking fun at the pope
Ironically, Friedman has stoked the fires of controversy with his own art. In this year’s show, he has a piece titled “Dominus Est Patri” (Glory to the Father), which satirizes Pope Benedict XVI’s ties to the Hitler Youth movement during World War II. “I made it look like a recruitment poster for the Hitler Youth,” said Friedman, who is Jewish. Pope Benedict XVI, who became head of the Roman Catholic Church after Pope John Paul II died in April, has acknowledged being in the Hitler Youth but has said that he was forced to join. He deserted the German army toward the end of World War II. In a past show, Friedman did a 9-11 digital photography piece that showed a Saudi government official in the co-pilot seat of a 767 flying into the World Trade Center.
<snip>
Buzzi: ‘ Mission Accomplished’
This isn’t the first time a Bush artwork has stirred controversy at the guild. About three years ago, an artist received death threats because of his piece depicting Bush in a Nazi uniform, Buzzi said. That artist chose to remove his piece from the show. Phillips also offered to remove his piece from the show. “I was looking at the big picture, and I didn’t want the guild to lose any grants because of it,” he said. But Buzzi rejected that option. “I told him, ‘You’re not causing any trouble. You’re just raising awareness,’” Buzzi said. “Art is supposed to make people think. It’s supposed to stir emotions and provoke debate. In this case — mission accomplished.” 
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