Artists for Clinton
California censorship sinks Clinton sculpture.

By K. Lloyd Billingsley, an author and journalist in Sacramento
August 20, 2001 8:00 a.m.

ill Clinton carried California, a state that is now giving him special protection. The California State Fair has banned the exhibition of an award-winning sculpture about Bill Clinton and one of his employees.

The work, made entirely of recycled materials, and without any government money, shows Bill Clinton lying in repose in a bathtub, accompanied by Monica Lewinsky, who once toiled as an intern in the White House. She was apparently a hard worker who performed tasks above and below the call of duty for her boss, the 42nd President of the United States. The sculpture, titled "Loose Lips Sink Ships," is by Peter Langenbach, a middle-school art teacher in the Bay Area. He entered "Loose Lips" at the Napa County Fair, in upscale wine country, and came away with a best-in-show award. More laurels were to follow. The California State Fair, a huge event in the capital, Sacramento, gave the sculpture its first-place award for three-dimensional sculptures. But then, a week before the Fair kicked off, officials banned "Loose Lips."

Brian May, an assistant general manager, explained to reporters that "the exhibit could be offensive to some people and inappropriate for young children." No fewer than five representatives of the Fair ruled "Loose Lips" unfit for exhibition, particularly because of "the location of Monica Lewinsky to the overall position of the president." In this, the sculptor was simply striving for verisimilitude, giving the work educational value.

During the actual events of the recent presidency, many complained it was difficult to explain the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal to students. Now art imitates life. This sculpture shows how even someone with the mindset of an 18-year-old, can become president. As for the material being "offensive," it hardly holds a monopoly.

As the sculptor pointed out, "people were offended by the situation — the actual event." So it makes perfect sense that a work of art based on the event would be offensive. The State Fair itself, with its noise, traffic, and drunks, is offensive to many people. So are songs that win Grammy awards, and films that win Oscars.

Whenever a banning like this takes place, or anyone objects to a publicly funded work satirizing Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary, the chattering classes proclaim that the purpose of art is to shock us, make us think. But had the California State Fair banned an award-winning satirical work about Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush, members of the "art community," would have protested the Fair for censorship. But the Sacramento art establishment uttered not a peep and, aside from one short news piece the media passed on the story. The sculptor, curiously, is not pressing the case but he does have other avenues.

Mr. Langenbach could donate his educational, award-winning work to a museum. Or, he could apply for a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and take "Loose Lips Sink Ships" on a national tour.