A Michael Jackson Exhibition Just Opened in Finland Despite Fresh Child Abuse Allegations Against the Singer

An exhibition of art inspired by
Michael Jackson has opened in Finland in the aftermath of new and
shocking abuse allegations against the singer, documented in the
recent documentary Leaving
Neverland. 

The exhibition—which was first
organized by Nicholas Cullinan last year for the National Portrait Gallery in London in
cooperation with the singer’s estate—later travelled to
the Grand Palais in
Paris and the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn. On August 21, it opened at
the Espoo Museum of Modern Art.

While the singer was the subject
of numerous allegations during his lifetime, more detailed
accusations surfaced this spring, when Leaving Neverland aired on television. In it, two former
associates of Jackson’s detail harrowing allegations of how they
were groomed and sexually assaulted by the Pop star when they were
children.

Despite the accusations, the
exhibition opened in Germany and has now moved to Finland. The
Espoo museum’s chief
curator, Arja Miller, tells artnet News that the museum did receive
mixed feedback from the public following the release of the film.
But since the exhibition has opened, she says it has been well
received.

“For us, it was important that
the exhibition doesn’t celebrate Jackson or put him on a pedestal,” she says.
“[Instead], it explores him and his impact as a cultural
symbol.”

Jackson is among the most widely
depicted cultural figures in the world, and the exhibition
includes works by 48 artists including Andy Warhol, Isa Genzken,
and Kehinde Wiley, who made a portrait of the singer shortly
before his death in the style of a Rubens painting of King
Philip II of Spain.

Miller notes that no works of
art by Jackson are included in the show, which instead focuses on
how he has been portrayed by a wide range of
artists. 

“Michael Jackson is recognizable
worldwide in a way that almost no one else is,” she says. “The
question is more about art in context and how interpretations can
change over time.” She adds that the museum’s goal is not to
provide “one-dimensional answers. We are a discursive
platform for art, artists, and audiences, and we still see this
exhibition as relevant in that sense.”

Child sexual abuse allegation against Jackson first emerged in
1993, when an American dentist name Evan Chandler accused the
singer of assaulting his son, Jordan. “The
allegations are not new,” Miller says. “Jackson has been a subject
of controversy for decades already.” She points out that some of
the works in the exhibition, such as one by Jordan Wolfson, refer
to these accusations.

“Our experience with this
exhibition is that relationships with Jackson vary massively,”
Miller says. “Just by looking at the artworks, you can see 48
different perspectives, the majority of which are by US artists,
and they are quite different from one another.”

Works by Rose Wylie, Pamela
Rosenkranz, and Paul McCarthy—represented by his golden statue of
the megastar with his pet chimpanzee, Bubbles—are included in the
Finnish leg of the show. 

“Nobody wanted to remove their
works from the exhibition,” Miller says. “I discussed this with several artists and they
strongly felt that their works are still relevant and
not always so much
about Michael Jackson, but more about the phenomenon that was
created around him.”

“Michael Jackson: On the
Wall” is on view through January 26, 2020 at the Espoo Museum
of Modern Art.

The post A Michael Jackson Exhibition Just Opened in Finland
Despite Fresh Child Abuse Allegations Against the Singer
appeared first on artnet News.