Deb Peterson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports:
CAUTION : GENITALIA AHEAD: Contemporary Art Museum topper Paul Ha said Tuesday that there was no censorship in a decision to leave out a painting of a vagina on antique pink wallpaper from the upper level of the museum during the recent opening of the Jim Hodges–Andy Warhol exhibit. “We didn’t have room for the extra signage that would have been needed,” Ha explained. “The sign that would have said, ‘Vagina ahead.'” About 2,000 people packed the opening on Friday night, and Ha said there was nowhere to put a cautionary sign. The painting was done by area artist Greg Edmondson and was chosen by artist Hodges to be included in the exhibit. Hodges said the work was “beautiful and confrontational.” It was replaced by another piece in the same series, of a rendering of a child’s toy on antique wallpaper. Ha said that the vagina was up to stay as of Monday, and that on the museum’s first floor there was Warhol’s drawing of a penis and a picture of a woman masturbating. “We don’t censor that kind of stuff,” Ha added.
