Complacent provocation. Textual deftness, pictorially derivative, insular, self-satisfied. These, we imagine, are the notes Secret Service agents took when they showed up at Columbia College's Glass Curtain Gallery in Chicago to check out an exhibit that features works like "Patriot Act," a fake 37-cent stamp that shows a handgun aimed at President Bush's temple. Before issuing any pronouncements, however, the Secret Service agents asked to talk to the artists. "They just want to make sure [the artwork] isn't something more than a statement," says museum director CarolAnn Brown. A potential blow to free speech? Maybe. But also a plus for art: most critics are usually only interested in their own opinions.
Secret Service Visits Art Show at Columbia [Chicago Sun-Times]
