Which photograph by Robert Mapplethorpe, part of the “The Perfect Moment” exhibition in 1989, intensified the debate over public funding of art?

X Portfolio

The "The Perfect Moment" exhibition by Robert Mapplethorpe, particularly his "X Portfolio" series, sparked a national debate in the United States over the funding of art with public money. Mapplethorpe's photographs, which included explicit images from the New York BDSM scene, were at the center of political and cultural controversies, raising questions about censorship, the freedom of artistic expression, and the limits of obscenity. The exhibition scheduled at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., was canceled just before its opening, causing a shockwave in the art world and beyond. This cancellation highlighted the tension between artistic values and political pressures, becoming a case study on the intersection of art, politics, and society.