The students who created "Plan B," a Brooklyn, N.Y., art exhibit that was shut down by city officials have vowed to file a lawsuit on free speech grounds, reports the Associated Press. The art was created by students at Brooklyn College, which is part of the City University of New York system.
The exhibit, displayed at a public war memorial, was deemed too racy by the city. It included representations of male genitalia, watercolor paintings of gay sex, and a live rat. It was housed in the city-owned Brooklyn War Memorial until the city parks department shut it down the day after it opened last week.
Civil rights attorney Norman Siegel, a 1965 Brooklyn College graduate, said he will represent the students in a First Amendment suit against the city, the parks department, and the college administration. "A clear message must be sent to the [Mayor Michael] Bloomberg administration that government is not the appropriate body to judge the value of art," Siegel told the AP.
The college moved the artwork on Monday and planned to keep it on campus until it could be installed in space donated by a developer, school spokeswoman Colleen Roche said in an e-mail. She would not comment on a "hypothetical" lawsuit. The 18-student show, participation in which is a graduation requirement, is the thesis for the master's of fine arts degree and had been scheduled to run through May 25. (The Advocate)
