University of Michigan Art Museum’s ‘Sex-Ed’ Exhibit Is Art in a Self-Centered Culture

I n February 2019, I had recently been admitted to the University of Michigan and was taking a campus tour for its admitted-students’ day. It’s a day when the school tries to convince admitted but undecided applicants to enroll. Our guide stopped in the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) to explain a part of the tour. But this was done only because it was cold, not to show us any particular exhibit. We took a shortcut through the building, but before we exited, one particular painting caught my eye. “Oh my God, is that ‘The Death of General Wolfe?’” I said aloud. Despite the odd looks I got from my group, it turned out I did see Benjamin West’s famous painting depicting a scene from the French and Indian War. That was the moment I knew I wanted to go to college at Michigan. If its art museum had such masterworks, I thought, that must translate to the rest of the school. Though I’ve enjoyed my time at U of M, my experience on the tour may have misled me about what to expect from the place.

Recently, the UMMA unveiled a new exhibit that might have been more indicative of some of the more unfortunate parts of campus had I seen it before enrolling. “The Sex Ed Class You Never Had” is a collection of short videos based on horror stories from students’ high-school sex-education classes. The series covers topics such as queerness, crushes, and porn, deviating from traditional sexual morality on every subject. After the artistic portion of each video, two of the project’s masterminds, Mari Longmire and Sean Joseph Kramer, discuss the topic of the video in an unserious conversation unsuitable for issues that hold such moral gravity. Additionally, they list community resources for viewers of the exhibit, one of which is the Ann Arbor Planned Parenthood.

The art museum is a special place for me, since it is where I decided to attend Michigan. I am sad to see it now promoting a culture that degrades both art and sex, especially when my tuition money is going toward the effort. The exhibit is a microcosm of what the Left is doing to our culture, replacing traditional ideals of selflessness and heroism with those of narcissism and debauchery.

West’s painting depicts the demise of General James Wolfe. Wolfe led the British to victory in the 1759 Battle of Quebec, a pivotal turning point in the French and Indian War. When he arrived at Quebec, he first tried to besiege the city. During the month-long siege, Wolfe battled rheumatism and dysentery in addition to the French. When Quebec’s defenders would not give in, Wolfe devised a plan to land his soldiers from rowboats a mile away from the city before they scaled the cliffs of the Plains of Abraham, surprising the French. The Marquis de Montcalm, Wolfe’s opponent, led his troops in a quick attack on the British, but he was forced to retreat. For Wolfe’s part, he was shot three times in the early stages of fighting, but he clung to life until he heard the news from a subordinate that Montcalm was defeated. “Now, God be praised, I will die in peace,” Wolfe said before drawing his last breath.

Wolfe’s story, West thought, was worthy of being told and emulated. His heroic actions changed the course of history on a grand scale. He helped his country win a war that expanded its influence in North America, paving the way for a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Wolfe never saw what would come of his efforts, but knowing that his troops were victorious was enough for him to be at peace. His valor and devotion to those under his leadership saw him remembered favorably in the pantheon of military history.

Contrast the painting that tells his story with the UMMA’s commentary on sex-ed. The two most revealing parts are those that discuss the concepts of utopia and porn.

The section entitled “Political Science: Utopia Is a Lot of Pressure” explores the disembodied voices of multiple characters blasting off to a utopia and listing what they brought with them, both literal and metaphorical. The emotional baggage they discuss contains difficulties such as caring what other people think and being judged for liking jazz, resolving with the line, “I only brought myself, and that’s enough.” In the discussion portion of the video, Longmire and Kramer discuss the concept of “survival.” But this is not the survival that Wolfe had to give up. It is, in their understanding, more “existential.” “What did you have to let go of or get rid of to survive?” Kramer asks Longmire. Longmire lists shame as what has held him and others back from “finding and discovering” themselves. Those who believe in this version of utopia think it is perfect because the people there have become at peace primarily with themselves, not because they have made others better off.

Another video entitled “Computer Literacy: Clearing Your Browser History and Other Survival Techniques” deals with porn. It is a montage of Internet searches typical of a middle-schooler curious about sex. The search engine becomes more and more difficult to work with until the screen fills with malware from the dirty websites the Internet leads to. Especially revealing is the discussion section. Kramer asks Longmire if there was a sex act of which he was previously unaware that he discovered through porn. “I feel like porn will lie to you sometimes,” he replies after struggling to answer the question. I’ll admit this section was kind of funny, but it was also morally maddening, because it was well-aware of the dangers of porn — destroying computers and misleading children about sex — but it shrugs them off as trivial.

This art is symptomatic of our self-centered society. As our culture’s morality degrades, so does our art. Wolfe battled issues with his health, both mental and physical, during the war. He could do so because he directed his difficulties outward. He pulled through his suffering by dedicating himself to his country and his troops, and he was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for them. The UMMA’s exhibit promotes only narcissism, making a person’s ultimate duty to himself, rather than something higher. In this ideology, the greatest good one can do is discover his racial, gender, or sexual identity and make it his entire worth as a human. It takes the act of sex, a positive good when used properly, and degrades it to a selfish practice through its approval of porn.

There is nothing wrong with having a personal sense of dignity and value. But a focus entirely on oneself is dangerous and selfish. A great artist must know his talents while always having in mind the perspective and feelings of the audience. The creators of the sex-ed exhibit have a strong infatuation with themselves that leads them to produce art that pales in comparison to West’s. To combat this attitude, we must take the fact that we know our worth and devote it to a noble cause as Wolfe did. What will follow is a more moral society that produces more beautiful art.