Secret Service agents turned up Thursday evening, just before the public opening of "Axis of Evil, the Secret History of Sin," and took pictures of some of the art pieces -- including "Patriot Act," showing President Bush on a mock 37-cent stamp with a revolver pointed at his head.
The agents asked what
the artists meant by their work and wanted museum director CarolAnn
Brown to turn over the names and phone numbers of all the artists. They
wanted to hear from the exhibit's curator, Michael Hernandez deLuna,
within 24 hours, she said.
The Columbia exhibit
features 47 artists from 11 countries and depicts powerful religious
and political leaders worldwide on mock postage stamps. One, called
"Citizen John Ashcroft," shows Ashcroft's face fashioned from images of
naked bodies at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Another piece -- "I saw it
in a movie starring Steven Segal" -- shows a series of images of an
airplane nearing, then crashing into the Sears Tower, and ends with the
Chicago skyline without the skyscraper.
Columbia College spokeswoman Micki Leventhal said news of the Secret Service visit was surprising and unprecedented for any art show. She said the exhibit had opened in Philadelphia with no complaints. Columbia agreed to the exhibit because of its "high artistic standards" and supports it even though the artists are not affiliated with the college, she said.
