Arousing Sensation

When the exhibition Much Sense: Erotics and Life appeared at the Walter Phillips Gallery in 1992, public, political and media Interest was intense. The artists explored issues of sexuality, expressing frank viewpoints on topics such as body image and gay and lesbian sexuality. The explicit content of their work sparked an uproar. Politicians, local and national media, and coalitions of arts organizations began a rancorous media debate, alternately battering and boosting The Banff Centre for the Arts and its support of the exhibition. Arousing Sensation offers a fascinating case study of a controversy concerning freedom of expression, funding for the arts, censorship, sexuality, political responsibility, and journalistic integrity. The book combines thoughtful analysis, critical discourse, and full text media clippings from the public debate. Questions raised by the controversy are as compelling now as they were incendiary then. Book jacket.