Steven C. Dublin wrote that artworks are never truly completed. Instead, they are continuously reinterpreted and reevaluated by successive publics. The artist’s original intentions are only one piece that contributes to the reception of anything they produce. In Robert Mapplethorpe’s early career, he turned his creative eye towards the fast-lane, gay society of the 70’s and early 80’s. By the 90’s, after the onset of the aids crisis, his images became elegies to a lost world. 
After Mapplethorpe’s first show he became known for his work with female and male nudes, still lifes, and celebrity portraits. Much of his work was sexually charged, most notably, his photographs which had a sense of frail beauty, the inevitability of mortality, and innocence. Mapplethorpe grew to be seen as a serious artist and his work became more acceptable and well known within the art world. However, some of his works received backlash and harsh criticisms, being called racist and accused of perpetuating the stereotype of black men being hypersexed. While some viewed his work as distasteful and offensive, others reacted by picking up on the inherent humor and absurdity of the situation, seeing the work as a comical confrontation of racial stereotypes.
With a wave a new generation of cultural critics came Richard Grenier who labeled Mapplethorpe “The Great Catamite.” Judith Reisman, an anti-pornography crusader equated Mapplethorpe’s image Honey to child abuse and accused him of photographically lynching The Man in the Polyester Suit. The most sustained attack on Mapplethorpe’s photographs came from Patrick Buchanan who wrote a series of venomous newspaper articles. Buchanan considered the arts and gay rights radicals out of touch, saying that they suffered from “an infantile disorder.” He accused the photographs of promoting filth and degradation in the guise of mediocre art and a lifestyle that was “suicidal.” Established art critic Hilton Kramer accused Mapplethorpe of forcing the public to accept loathesome sexual values after viewing The Perfect Moment at The Whitney in 1988. These statements made it difficult for the public to draw their own conclusions in regards to the works.
The Perfect Moment was scheduled to be shown in seven different states including Washing DC. However, director Christina Orr-Cahill stated that the heated political climate in DC made it unwise for the Corcoran to host the exhibit. Orr-Cahill felt that displaying his work so close to Capital Hill could jeopardize the NEA’s future. After the cancellation of the exhibit was announced, the art community marched in protest at Corcoran. Many other artists who were scheduled to show at Corcoran boycotted the venue, seeing it as unpredictable and unreliable. 
Jesse Helms lead the charge against the arts for three months in the summer of 1989. He created the “Helms Amendment” which banned the use of federal funds to promote obscene or indecent materials. Helms brought the amendment to a voice vote, so that anyone who voted against it would be on record as supporting tax payer money to be used for pornography. Mapplethorpe’s exhibit was scheduled to be shown at CAC, but since this amendment was in place, they tried to have the material reviewed by a jury to determine if it was deemed obscene. A judge denied the request so the CAC decided to proceed with the exhibit. Mapplethorpe’s show earned both the CAC and the art director, Dennis Barrie, two misdemeanors each of pandering obscene material and illegal use of child nudity-related material. While 63 percent of the local Hamilton County residence opposed the prosecution of the arts, the opposition made a strong case utilizing a trio of doctors who found the exhibit to be degrading, with one going so far as to say that for someone with an addiction to pornography, viewing the images could green light them into engaging in similar behavior. The defense made their case using testimony of museum personnel (both men and women), local art critics, and over 50 curators who were willing to talk about the merit of Mapplethorpe’s work. The preparation by the defense made the case sway heavily in their favor and after only two and a half hours of deliberation, the jury chose to acquit Barrie and the CAC of all charges being held against them.

