sexismandthecity:

Renée Cox, Yo mama’s last supper, 1996

“…Christianity is big in the African-American community, but there are no presentations of us,” she said. “I took it upon myself to include people of color in these classic scenarios.”

Cox’s photograph, “Yo Mama’s Last Supper” ignited a maelstrom of controversy when it was shown in the exhibit Committed to the Image at the Brooklyn Museum in 2001. It was a remake of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” with a nude Cox sitting in for Jesus Christ, surrounded by all black disciples, except for Judas who was white.

Many Roman Catholics were outraged at the photograph and New York Mayor Rudolph Guiliani called for the forming of a commission to set “decency standards” to keep such works from being shown in any New York museum that received public funds.

(Source: brooklynmuseum.org)