New York – A major exhibition of gay-themed art that includes a film of ants crawling on a crucifix is opening at the Brooklyn Museum next week, reports MyFoxNY.
It is an institution that is well known for presenting bold and edgy artworks that in the past included a painting of the Virgin Mary that incorporated elephant dung.
"A Fire in My Belly" is a film by the late David Wojnarowicz that was pulled from the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., when the exhibition was presented there last year.
The ant scene angered some in Congress and the Catholic League called the work sacrilegious.
More than 100 pieces are included in "Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture," the first major museum exhibition to explore how gender and sexual identity have shaped American
Brooklyn Museum Director Arnold Lehman said Wednesday that the museum wanted to present the exhibition "clearly because it's such an important aspect of American art in the 20th century."
"We decided to reconstitute it as originally planned by the curators. We haven't changed the exhibition in any way other than having to replace a handful of works of art that were otherwise promised to other exhibitions or institutions," he added.
Wojnarowicz's work explores the subject of AIDS and was created before the artist was diagnosed with the disease, which claimed his life at age 37 in 1992.
The ant scene fills only 10 seconds of the short film, which was shot on Super8 film and later transferred to video.
"My hope is that this will be an extraordinarily important way in which to bring the entire city together to celebrate American art during this last century," Lehman said.
"This is New York City. This is a city that has thrived on the incredible contributions from the gay and lesbian community. This is a state that's just passed a very progressive legalization of gay marriage."
Catholic League President Bill Donohue said he wasn't surprised that the exhibition was coming to the Brooklyn Museum, which he called notoriously anti-Catholic, but he said his group would not hold protests like it had in Washington.
The League has criticized the museum in the past for a painting by Chris Ofili called "The Holy Virgin Mary," a work that also angered then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
"Hide/Seek" runs at the Brooklyn Museum through Feb. 12.
It will then travel to the Tacoma Art Museum in Washington state.
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