Private Showing

"Vulgarity is a part of life and art," said one student at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. He was trying to explain why scandalized officials in Providence should appreciate the new art exhibition staged off-campus last week by the school's students and faculty. Its subject: "Private parts. Any size. Any medium. Any thing. Any one. Any private. Any part."

The 110 works were mainly photographs of the obvious sort, but one contributor provided an actual rattrap sprung on an unfortunate male, and one mysteriously offered a collection of sea shells. For anyone inspired to join in at the last moment, there was a booth equipped with a Polaroid camera.

After reviews of the show appeared in the local papers, hundreds of art lovers turned up at the studio. One irate city councilman threatened cancellation of the school's tax-exempt status, accusing the participants of "violating every standard of the community under the guise of art." The Providence police apparently shared his indignation. Under a new antipornography law that had been signed the very day the show opened, the cops raided the place and seized some 43 drawings and paintings. City Solicitor Ronald Glantz hoped, however, that he would not have to prosecute. Said he: "The whole thing is absurd. The law is unconstitutional. We'd have to put shorts on half of the city's statues."

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