Piece at Portland Art Museum depicts child abuse in graphic fashion
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PORTLAND, Ore. – It is a piece of art that is supposed to spark a conversation – and that’s exactly what it’s doing.
Edward and Nancy Kienholz’s “The Bear Chair” is a graphic depiction of child sexual abuse that is currently on display at the Portland Art Museum.
The installation features a bear in a position of sexual power over a young girl represented by a mannequin. The museum said it is “purposefully unsettling to look at as it explores a terrible aspect of contemporary life – the physical abuse and sexual exploitation of children.”
The bear, which represents an abusive father, has also scrawled a note saying “if you tell anyone I’m going to hurt your mama really bad.” The bear also has an exposed human phallus. | See an uncensored image of the piece
The Bear Chair is displayed in a partially walled off section of the museum. Visitors in the contemporary art section must pass a red sign that says “some works in this gallery present content that is socially and emotionally charged. Parental and personal discretion is advised.”
“I believe very strongly that it belongs here,” museum curator Bruce Guenther said. “We are a place that you come to discover, to engage, to question.”
He explained the artists made the piece as a statement against child abuse. He said the museum wants people to “walk out the door and say ‘not in my home, not in my community, not in this lifetime.’”
Guenther said since the exhibit opened last August they have only had a handful of complaints.
We here at KATU first learned about the exhibit when a parent contacted us to complain about the graphic nature of the art. She was concerned that unsupervised children have access to the piece.
“I felt like I was kicked in the stomach,” she wrote on the museum’s Facebook page and emailed KATU. “There were a lot of children that should never see it.”
“It’s the role of art historically and traditionally to teach us about life, about spiritual values, to record history, to talk about political change to open up the problems and the joys of daily life,” Guenther said.
He said high school and college groups have seen The Bear Chair and discussed its meaning, as have younger children with their parents.
“People have come away talking about an issue that faces us every day and vowing to make a difference,” Guenther said.
The Bear Chair will be on display at the museum until August. The piece was created in 1991 and has been displayed around the world.
It belongs to a private collector who has a connection to child abuse herself and feels strongly that the piece opens a conversation about something that is too often a silent horror.
When I saw this on channel 6 I was mortified that anyone would think this was "Art". What about all the women and girls who have been abused how do you think they feel seeing this. For anyone to defend this piece of junk really makes me furious. There are much better ways to have conversations about seuxal child abuse other than displaying it graphiclly in 3d at an art museum. For any woman to justify this as a piece of art really disgusts me on so many levels. This piece of junk supports child abuse it doesn't stand agains't it. I wonder how many pedophiles have seen it. When my grandchildren and I pay to go to the museum I am paying to see ALL the exhibits and don't expect to have to shelter my grandchildren from some of it. To all artist "THIS IS NOT ART" it is smut. How is this suppose to help with Sexual Child Abuse? If you are an artist and think that this is an acceptable piece of art would you please list your names below so that I and others can choose NOT to buy your art work as your morals and ethics are questionable. I am choosing not to take my family to the Art Museum anymore as I cannot trust them use MORAL and ETHICS in thier decision in displaying art work.
I was wondering if there has been any follow up on this. I would really like to specifically understand why the museum is, in fact, recommending this work as a good conversation piece to discuss abuse and trust issues with children. Did they consult with child psychologists or therapists, for instance? Have they considered what this might look like or be perceived as from a child's perspective? Children do not understand the nuances of art and philosophy as adults might.
Personally, I believe that showing this to a child would be an extreme violation of a child's trust. So, I feel the museum is violating the trust of children and it's family visitors.Â
I understand children are to be supervised in the museum, but the museum has to understand and accept, realistically, how children behave when they make curatorial decisions.   Children do venture ahead and around corners. They do not always hold their parents hands once they are past 4 or 5 and they do not read signage, especially when it doesn't look very important and if it has no visual cues on it. If the museum is excusing itself by wrongly scapegoating "irresponsible" parents, that shows a sever attitude problem towards children and families, and an accommodation problem. It sounds like people are complaining and the museum is brushing it off and ignoring it, instead of taking simple steps to rectify the problem caused by poor planning.
I'm DELIGHTED that such an innovative and developmentally appropriate approach to this topic was created. It's artistically, clinically, and philosophically sound, which is typically quite difficult to combine, within a visual medium. I wish every school, place of worship, library, and hospital had this piece of artwork displayed within it. In that way, no child would be left to "accidentally discover" the horrors of child sexual abuse, via family members. They would learn that society, including every single adult surrounding them, knows this is sick, aberrant behavior, should never be tolerated by any child or adult, and that there are adults who will protect a child from such predators, if the child should encounter such barbaric behaviors by someone bigger or more powerful than them! BRAVO to the Portland Art Museum for being courageous, responsible, mature, and resourceful on this topic! It is only those who want abuse permanently perpetuated who will tantrum about such an exhibit. They desperately don't want to have to deal with the realities that accompany this travesty. Most of the time, they're busy encouraging them to be passed along, by playing the ostrich.
Developmentally appropriate? This is no way to teach children about abuse.  Even the most gifted children are hardly developmentally mature enough to cope with seeing something like this, and they shouldn't have to. Of course children should be educated, but this is a disgusting way to do it. When I was a child, I was a victim of various abuses, myself -- one of which was a scary exhibitionist who exposed himself in a disgusting, threatening manner. When I see this grotesque, disgusting, obscene art piece -- it makes me so angry this is being allowed.  I imagine how children, maybe walking ahead of parents as children are prone to do and becoming curious by seeing a toy like assemblage with bear and some birds, naively goes to approach this art to be absolutely assaulted by the disgusting, sexual imagery of a penis sticking out, towards Goldilocks being tied up in a humiliating, degrading way.  The child approaches the art in trust, which is violated in a most obscene way. The child has been "tricked". That is betrayal. Images can and do traumatize.
The Museum knows very well children walk ahead. If it thinks parents should always hand hold, they need to be more realistic and sensitive to families. They did, after all, sell me a family membership, so I expect that from them, after all.
I think your statement "It is only those who want abuse permanently perpetuated who will tantrum about such an exhibit" -- well, that is judgmental and off base. Well, I take issue with this art for the very reason it borders on abuse.
 @JanieceStatonÂ
 @JanieceStaton Janiece, I am a artist and I grasped the interpretation perfectly. The only ones desiring sexual abuse to persist are the law makers and the perpetrators. I tantrum-ed loudly, because child abuse ruined my life  obviously you are clueless about the effects of child abuse and the law. It is not that mothers are not taking action, it's the prosecutors and Judges won't protect the children. Child services told me that it is basically legal to abuse babies and developmentally disabled, because they can't testify unless they are 4 or 5 sometimes 6 or 7 dependent on their maturity. My delicate insensitive were attacked when the display brought back all the trauma my child had to endure at the hand of his father and the legal system. I looked the DA in the face and asked him to look my in the eye and tell me I had to send my child to be raped, he about choked on his inability to protect my child. My intense self-centeredness has caused me to be alone for 18 years, because I gave up my life for my child.  Had I not reported it I would have been just as guilty ah him, but even so they failed to protect my child. I slept with a 9mm on my chest for years now it is a foot away. I would have dug a hole, had I know that the justice system would not do their job.  Your "narcissistic squawk" showed your ignorance on the subject. It should be on display at the state capitol so the law makers will change the laws in favor of the victims instead of the pukes.  Thanks
 @JanieceStaton   That was very well said, thank you. I was looking for the words and here they are. Anyone who is offended by the piece should heed the warning posted at the entrance. Anyone who feels their child isn't old enough or mature enough to handle it shoudn't let their child view it. The article states "We here at KATU first learned about the exhibit when a parent contacted us to complain about the graphic nature of the art. She was concerned that unsupervised children have access to the piece.âI felt like I was kicked in the stomach".
If a child is too young to absorb the information and have an informative discussion with their parent then they shouldn't be left unsupervised in this or any part of the museum.
I agree, although this piece is very bold it is also very necessary. Yes it's shocking and it's meant to be. We should all be shocked and sickened by the tragedies that occur in too many childrens lives, ruining them emotionally forever. Education is one step towards prevention.
To even consider this as a "Piece of Art" disgust me and most of the people who have seen it. How could you even think that this would be a "Good" thing for child abuse? To you artist you are morally bankrupt and thank you for putting our names on here so we know not to buy anything you do. Good to know that KATU thinks that this kind of piece of junk is art work and sought to sensationalize it "KUDOs" for being without morals or ethics. This has nothing to do with education and there is nothing to be learned by any of this Piece of junk except that there are a lot of people that are morally bankrupt. Â
Wow! If my child saw this, I'd be FURIOUS. No children should see graphic obscenity. Has the museum asked experts if this REALLY is a harmless thing for children to see? Really? I'd like to know how they came about their decision. I'd think this could cause many children some severe emotional harm, and that's a problem. Does the museum understand that or care?Â
@NancyJ.  As a concerned parent you'd read the sign and stay away from the exhibit right? If your children are too young to view then it's your responsibility to keep them away from it. They didn't put it out in the foyer where you don't have the choice. They've given everyone ample warning. And I'm sure the Museum didn't make the decision to display it without proper consideration.
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 @PTLD CITIZEN The museum should not be selling family memberships if it doesn't want to be considerate towards families and children. Older children do not hold hands and wander ahead.  The sign is not even specific enough for those who are adults to comprehend the content.  There is no rope or boundary that divides this, just a small, nondescript sign a child would not bother to read. And, yes, I am very much saying that the Museum is displaying this in a way that shows they did not take proper consideration.
 @PTLD CITIZEN PTLD There are two doors to that room and someone was in front of that sign I used the other door
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Look at what we're inundated by through news and print media on a daily basis. Do you mean to tell me this one piece of art is more offensive than all of the sad, sick stories we hear and read about all the time?
Somebody needs to smash it where it sits.
Well, that is certainly different.
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No one, especially a child, should ever have to deal with abuse of any kind, especially sexual abuse.
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And we are supposed to be civilized...
This stuff happens and it happened to me. If it makes you mad, then help stop it. Otherwise shut up!
 @Gwen BoucherÂ
I have never been sexually abused but for you or anyone else to imply that I need to see images like this in order to 'get it' or want to do something to stop it is greatly offensive to me. You are basically calling me an insensitive idiot who has to have her nose rubbed in the filth and to get down to the level of the perverts to 'get it'. Far more likely that images like this titilate the sick minded, and is what motivates such so-called artists, than that it teaches any sane person anything of value.
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So maybe you are the one who should just shut up.
 @ormom @Gwen Boucher   No one has implied that you need to see this image any more than they've implied you need to watch pornography. Yes, it's perverted. And that's the point. Child abuse is perverted, no way around that. But ignoring it isn't going to fix anything. And maybe if this display is shocking enough it may shame abusers into rethinking their horrible ways. And children need to know this is not okay. If it prompts discussion amoungst parents and children (at thier parents discression) than so be it. Did you not read the part about there being a warning sign for this display and that it's set apart from other displays just for that reason? You've labelled yourself an "insensitive idiot", no one else has.
 Just shut up? Yeah, that's mature. (meant for ormom)
@ormom I'm not implying anything. No matter how many tears I and others cry, it still goes on. Where will it stop? Homeland Security is now spending most of their time trying to round up and take care of Pediophiles; this from an HS agent. They won't let me help find people like this because they know I might go all vigilante.
 @ormom Lighten up, Francis. She said nothing of the kind.
Some people NEED to be shocked into wakefulness.
 @MikeyÂ
Let her defend her own statement.
 @ormom  @Gwen Boucher No.  I don't think Gwen Boucher is calling you insensitive and certainly not an idiot.  Rather, I think she is basically telling people to take the blinders off and acknowledge that stuff like this happens.  A lot of people out there still don't believe it or they continue to blame the child.
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Working with abused foster kids, I can tell you the stuff I see and here is far more troubling than this image. Â If for no other reason than because it is real life.
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Some people do get it. Â You are one of them. Â Those who are more empathetic or who have had their life touched by someone who has been a victim of abuse (sexual, physical, or even verbal) don't need an image or illustration thrown in front of them. Â Others do. Â I suppose that's why the crime shows are so popular on TV and are so terribly graphic. Â They are on TV because people watch them. Â Deviant art is popular because it gets a reaction. Â
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I know that's oversimplfying it but I really don't think you have the right or a place to tell someone (especially someone who is publicly willing to admit to having been a victim of abuse) to shut up. Â She needs and deserves to tell her story. Â You just don't have to listen.
This is disturbing on many levels.
Pedobear suddenly just got really dark.
Very disturbing to see. Just as it should be.
I thought about this piece this morning and would love to see a women mannequin with an ax cutting off the bears, you know what as a representation of a Mother fighting back against the child molester, protecting her child!
@sassy or girl As is common, my Mom did not fight back, or try to stop it. He would have hurt her just like me. I tried to kill him with a hatchet once, but he took it from me. He never touched me again.
Whenever I go into an art museum I expect to be shocked by at least one thing I see. That's how art is nowadays. But that being said, I really don't think that people seeing this is going to prevent any abuse from happening, if that's the argument. An abuser might even find this exciting, sicko's that they are. I don't think they should take it down, but they should definitely keep children from seeing it. Maybe they need an adult only section of the museum.Â
I applaud not only the artists, but the curator, as well as the owner. This style of child abuse still lives in the shadows in many homes throughout our world, and it brings it out into the open. It helps in removing the stigma abuse victims may feel, and tells the world "we cannot turn a blind eye".
I why do we punished people who have child pornography that's 50 years old? Is any part of that answer having to do with how seeing those images promote the act thereby endangering children? If so, how is this any different?Â
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After seeing this so-called art by the so-called artist would you want him to babysit your young girl?
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 While that thought and those images are fresh in your mind now answer is this art..
This is NOT ART.....it is disgusting and sickening. Throwing abuse into the faces of victims and abusers! Makes me
sick...get it out of there!!!!!
 @Sherrie Garon It's not the art museum's job to protect you from images that might upset you. Art is meant to create a strong reaction in the viewer, and this piece has obviously succeeded on that level. Don't look at it if it makes you sick.
Well, it really is their job to protect you from extremely disturbing art, as a matter of fact. They do sell family memberships, for instance, so it's not like they aren't targeting families as part of their market.  They can put this sort of art where children cannot easily wander, for instance. Not just around some corner, like in a separate room where you have to purposefully enter. They can have more specific signage than they do, as well.Â
 @Sherrie Garon This SHOULD be thrown at the faces of every person out there! As a survivor of child sexual abuse, I do not find this art offensive! I think it has it's place. I think more talk about this subject is healthy and needs to be thrown out into the open. I am glad you feel sick about the art. How do you feel about child sexual abuse? You hide from it don't you? You don't want to think about it. You feel helpless because you don't think you can stop it. YOU ARE WRONG!!!! You can stop it. You can be a safe haven for children. You can be a shoulder to a victim. You can be an outspoken advocate for tougher laws! Get off your buttocks and DO SOMETHING!!! That is what this piece of art is supposed to tell you.
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Nobody listened to me when I was a child. No one stopped the abuse. I had to end it myself, knowing full well I could be killing my mother and siblings. He destroyed my childhood and a bit of my adult life. Please don't let another child suffer.
I am the one that called Shellie, I was looking at the art on the other wall and went in that room the back way. I was abused when I was little when I was grown I was raped at gun point and stalked by a stranger. I am as tough as they come,but when my child was abused it destroyed me. He said he would cut my head off and Mama cats head off if they told. It has been 18 years and walking in and seeing that brought back all the garbage it triggered the PTSD that I no doubt have. The piece should be on display but not at the museum it should be at the capitol so the law makers have to see it daily so they will change the laws in favor of the children instead of the abusers.Â
 @Tina Seems that the news took a different slant than your intended approach.  I notice that their "still" image even has the unblurred image of the bear's genitalia which I also find strangely ironic.
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First, let me apologize for what you went through as a child. Â I know there is nothing I could have done for YOU but, as a member of society, I let you down.
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Second, as a PTSD sufferer, I'm also sorry for the shock you suffered (and, essentially, revictimization because you didn't expect to see this). Â I haven't seen this art installation yet but, if its where I'm thinking it is, yes, there should also be warning signs on any other possible entrance locations (and, maybe, even a bit more explanation). Â What else was even in the room with the piece? Â Anything else positive or negative or was it by itself completely?
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Third, unlike many of the other posters here, I definitely feel this piece deserves to be publicly displayed. Â I kinda like your idea of having it somewhere noticeable and unavoidable (but, yet, able to be shielded from especially young children). Â Maybe someone could set up a rotating art exhibit for public display in lawmaking areas that would include this piece and others created by survivors of abuse? Â That would make the piece even more significant and impactful. Â And, as those of us who have experienced abuse know, it comes in many different forms and means something entirely different for all who have been involved.
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We cannot change those things we don't acknowledge. Â At the very heart of it, this piece has gotten people talking. Â Sadly, it appears to be about the "value" of the art rather than what it is saying.
 @TinaÂ
I am so sorry you were assaulted by this piece of trash. I think people who create this kind of vile filth are little better than the abusers they portray. In fact , I think they have a great deal in common with them.
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And what the hell is up with mixing animal and human images anyway? Another sign of a sick mind I'd say.
 @ormom Wow. Your conservative views are frightening. Thank goodness you're not the art police, and that your opinion regarding artists and abusers won't be taken seriously by any with an ounce of critical thinking skills. Best for you to just stick with Thomas Kinkade and not tax yourself.
 @gofigureÂ
You know nothing about my politics.
Some people who have been sexually abused are so used to being exploited by others they can't even recognize how offensive it is when 'artists' and curators do it too.
 @ormom Absolutely. Everything should be painted rosy colors and glossed over because we certainly wouldn't want to upset the sensibilities of anyone who is too prim and proper to even think about such a thing as this...whatever that disturbing picture was portraying. I'll just close my eyes and maybe it will go away. Let's keep our world sterile and pure and make all the bad people just go away, but don't tell us anything about it. Excuse me, I have to take my muffins out of the oven...
 @MikeyÂ
I'm sorry you can't understand something without having it thrown in your face. Some of us can understand child abuse just fine without that. Would you have to watch a snuff film to understand that problem too? Would you have to see pictures of a scalded child to understand how some parents discipline their kids? Maybe we should show those images in a museum too for all you idiots that can't get it otherwise.
One of my favorite classes in college was a philosophy seminar on aesthetics. The theme, for the entire semester, was "what is art"? There aren't any wrong answers because it's all subjective. We covered everything from crafting and quilting, to computer generated art, performance art and controversial artists like Maplethorpe and Serrano. This is art because the artist says it is. And it's not art if you say it isn't. But the conversations are the interesting part and that's precisely what this artist was trying to do. No one is asking you to like it, just to consider it. And it's definitely supposed to be disturbing.
DOES THIS SHOCK YOU? I hope so. Child sex abuse happens everyday. It should not be a dirty secret no more. If this gets one child to come forward and tell, then it worked.
 @Linda Kautz I think it will make young children more afraid of bears but I don't think a lot of them will really get the connection. They may grow up thinking animals go around abusing children.
 @Pointblank  @Linda Kautz I think good parenting and education would allow the child to not be that foolish. Metaphor is not that confusing.Â
 @NancyJ. Now your arguing foolishly. Good parenting and education means the child would not be afraid of bears (although they should be afraid of bears). A child would never be foolish. The parent would be for being a really bad parent if they can't explain the metaphor. Its not complicated.
So, Kevin...if the child still became afraid of bears (despite good parenting and education) I guess you would presume that child "foolish"....and then it would be the child's fault for being afraid of bears. Great.
 @Linda Kautz The abused children will probably never see it because they are kept in closets or in bed or under a chair. It does happen every day and needs to be stopped so it should be placed in the capitol where the lawmakers have to deal with it daily until they start protecting the children. I was once told by child services that it is legal to abuse children and the developmentally disabled. Because they can't testify.
 @Linda Kautz Absolutely, if this art can convict one criminal through awareness than it has been more successful than most people.
This is beyond disgusting. To think they even begin to call this art. This is repulsive. I for one will never return to the P. A.M. and give my support. SHAME ON YOU FOR DISPLAYING this JUNK. SHAME on these people calling themselves artists.
 @NB You call it junk, you shame the people who created it and display it - yet there are those who have suffered abuse at the hands of a parent, sibling, or other family member who are positively encouraging this display. It IS disgusting, it is MEANT to be disgusting. It is a representation of a vile act carried out against an innocent child, it is meant to make you want to cry, scream, and be angry. Art is to be thought provoking, and this is ART - it provokes people.