Contemptorary Platform Features Critical Analysis of 2017 Whitney Biennial Controversy

The online platform Contemptorary, co-founded by Eunsong Kim and Gelare Khoshgozaran, published Jared Sexton's critical examination of debates surrounding Dana Schutz's painting 'Open Casket' at the 2017 Whitney Biennial. Sexton's essay, released on May 21, 2017, analyzes the complex psycho-political motivations in discussions about artistic representation of historical trauma. The work addresses Schutz's controversial depiction of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy whose 1955 murder in Mississippi became a catalyst for the civil rights movement. The analysis explores how artistic engagement with traumatic history generates polarized discourse about representation, ethics, and memory.