“We all want to talk about this.” A Study of Freedom of Artistic Expression in Academic Art Museums and Galleries
4.2 Content warnings are the most commonly-used constraint when potentiallycontroversial art is exhibited. The two most frequent strategies employed by decision-makers exhibiting potentially controversial art clearly are “less visible placement” and “content warnings.” Two interviewees elaborated on how they implement these approaches: In our press releases and on our website we say that there is adult content in the exhibition. Even with our docents, and with the students, the student ambassadors who we work with– And there are signs, too, that it may have adult content.
There was some very suggestive imagery in [an artist’s] video, for example. We put up a sign just outside the door saying “This content is not ideal for children” and yes, we try to be proactive about it. Although content warnings are extremely popular, they are not embraced by some museum professionals who feel that they prejudice and limit the viewer’s interpretation and appreciation of the work displayed. Two interview subjects shared commonly-voiced sentiments in opposition to content warnings: We try not to put signs up just because we want people to come in and make up their own mind unless it is something triggering or something that might really upset somebody, but, typically, we don’t do that.
We talked about things like who is a content warning for? Is it for like liberal, middle-class liberal elite students who might need to get on the fainting couch because they’ve seen something that upsets them? Who is this for? It was really interesting because a number of those folks in the team felt that content warnings are really for the privileged. Super interesting. What we ended up doing, in the end, was just saying, ‘This is an installation by the artist that asked us to explore questions such as . . . We just had a couple of guiding questions. Maybe not a traditional content warning, but more a set of, ‘Here’s the thoughts to go in with. We’re not going to lead you to conclusions but here are some questions.’ Svetlana Mintcheva, former Director of Programs at the National Coalition Against Censorship [NCAC], recommends going even further in avoiding prejudicial signage: “warning signs also have the effect of prejudicing viewers, reinforcing taboos and framing subject matter as inherently problematic. They also privilege the assumption that there is a right not to be offended – or disturbed. The National Coalition Against Censorship therefore recommends warning signs at the entrance to the museum that are general, rather than referring to any work of art or exhibition, e.g.: ‘The works this institution exhibits may awe, illuminate, challenge, unsettle, confound, provoke, and at times,
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