The photograph confronts anyone walking through the lobby of Lehigh University's humanities building: A man who could be President Bush's identical twin smirks for the camera, his left hand cupping the breast of a leering woman in a negligee.
The 4-foot-by-4-foot image part of a satirical exhibit called "The Forbidden Pictures, A Political Tableau," by internationally renowned photographer Larry Fink has upset student conservatives who see it as further evidence of a liberal bias on campus.
"My first impression was tasteless, absolutely tasteless. The picture of the president borders on slanderous," said David Hauptmann, 22, a senior international relations major.
In an essay accompanying the five vivid photographs, Fink makes clear the target of his satire. He says the 2000 presidential election was stolen, criticizes the "fundamentalist neoconservative conspiracy," calls Bush a "frat boy with charisma" and refers to "our current fraudulent leaders, George W. and his cabinet."
Another photograph depicts a group of prostitutes sitting around a table scattered with miniature elephants the symbol of the Republican Party. Campus conservatives suspect that a woman in the foreground is meant to be national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, although Fink says she is not depicted.
The exhibit's curator, Ricardo Viera, makes no apologies for the display, saying it is meant to promote discussion.
"Universities are a forum for diverse ideas and intellectual challenges," he said.
I actually don't mind that they're doing this. I just wonder whether they would have displayed such a "satirical" exhibit if the target-of-skewerance were a person of color or a person of gender?
Would Viera have been as enthusiastic and supportive if the skeweree had been Hillary Clinton or Jesse Jackson? Would that also have been an example of "diverse ideas", and an "intellectual challenge"?
