Dana Schutz's Whitney Biennial Painting Sparks Debate on Representation and Identity Politics

Dana Schutz's oil painting Open Casket (2016), exhibited in the 2017 Whitney Biennial, depicts the disfigured body of Emmett Till, a black fourteen-year-old murdered in Mississippi in 1955. The painting drew criticism for its handling by a white artist, with Berlin-based British artist Hannah Black circulating an open letter demanding its removal and destruction. Critics like Jerry Saltz in New York Magazine praised its political relevance, while social media responses and protests, including artist Parker Bright standing before the work with a 'BLACK DEATH SPECTACLE' sign, highlighted accusations of exploitation. Biennial curators Christopher Y. Lew and Mia Locks defended the exhibition as acknowledging a solemn image in American history. Schutz responded that her engagement was through empathy with Till's mother. The debate centered on whether white artists can appropriately address black suffering, with Black arguing such imagery should not be treated as raw material by non-black artists. American artist Kara Walker, in an Instagram post, reflected on painting as a site beyond identity limits, citing Artemisia Gentileschi's Judith Slaying Holofernes. The controversy underscores tensions in identity politics, where representation is contested as proprietary. The article appeared in the April 2017 issue of ArtReview.