Two queer artists of color are calling out a Texas museum for slapping a “mature content” warning on an exhibition in which their work was included. The exhibit doesn’t contain any sexual images, but it does show gay people.
rafa esparza and Fabian Guerrero’s multidisciplinary installation “Querías Norte” is currently on view as part of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art’s show “Cowboy.” The centerpiece of the work is esparza’s painting “al Tempo,” which shows two dark-skinned, fully clothed men in cowboy hats sharing a kiss while dancing together.
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According to the museum’s description, “Cowboy,” which features works by 28 artists, “reexamines the popular mythologies surrounding the image and concept of the cowboy” and explores “themes including perceptions of masculinity and gender.” According to a November 2023 press release previewing the exhibit, “Cowboy aims to disrupt the homogenous ideal of the cowboy as a White, cisgender American male and showcase the diverse manifestations of this figure across communities.”
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But as the Fort Worth Reporter reported in October, shortly after the exhibition opened on September 28, the museum quietly shut it down with no explanation. When it reopened the following month, guests entering the gallery in which “Cowboy” is installed were greeted with a sign warning that the exhibition “includes mature content” and a QR code allowing them to preview the works on their phone.
In October, Texas art site Glasstire reported that the Carter had removed a banner image touting the exhibition on its homepage and seemed to have rolled back ads for “Cowboy” on billboards around Fort Worth. The outlet also reported that the museum appeared to have canceled several family-oriented events and programs around the exhibition. According to Texas Monthly, as of late January, the museum’s exterior features no signage advertising “Cowboy,” which is on view through March 23.
The museum has not specified which of the works included in “Cowboy” it considers “mature content” and has declined requests from multiple outlets to do so. But as Glasstire noted, none of the museum’s other galleries featuring nudes or works depicting violent imagery contain a similar warning.
Guerrero told Texas Monthly that during a Zoom meeting with the museum’s curators, he and esparza were told that there had been “complaints about the exhibit because of the sexual identity content.” Sources at the museum told the magazine that staff were shocked by both the decision to temporarily close the exhibit and to reopen with the warning. They said that the Carter’s chief operating officer, Scott Wilcox, refused to answer questions about the reason behind the temporary closure but told staffers that a member of the museum’s board had received a complaint about “Cowboys.”
“We recognize this exhibition is a different view of the American cowboy than we’ve shown at the Carter historically. It takes time to prepare everyone for change, big or small, and, in this case, we needed more time to align on messaging for our visitors,” a spokesperson for the museum said in a statement shared with Texas Monthly. They also acknowledged that the museum had “shifted some of the content of family and homeschool events to account for feedback received in regard to those programs.”
In a separate statement to Dallas public radio station KERA, the museum said that it had “received feedback from members of our community about ‘Cowboy’s content, and we wanted to give visitors a chance to preview the works in advance. We always try to consider the needs of our community, and these adjustments acknowledge their feedback.”
esparza described the content warning as “a form of censorship,” according to KERA.
“What would it feel like for an artist if someone came in and said, ‘Hey, I’d love to invite you to see the show, but I have to warn you, you’re going to see a painting of a Black cowboy.’ Like, how does that warrant a mature content disclaimer, right?” esparza said, referencing other works in the exhibition during a recent artists’ talk at the Carter. “And, like, ‘I want to show you this incredible ‘Cowboy’ exhibit and at the Amon Carter, but, just warning you, you’re going to see a woman riding a horse.’ … If you describe all of the works in the show it becomes very absurd.”
Guerrero noted that museums, which often include works depicting slavery and colonization, should create space for queer joy as well. “Our project, you’re just seeing two men dancing together, and there’s no harm to that,” he said.
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