At the National Art Gallery in Dublin , a husband and wife were staring at
a portrait that had them completely confused. The painting depicted
3 black men totally naked, sitting on a bench.
Two of the figures had black penises, but the one in the middle had a pink
penis. The curator of the gallery realized that they were having
trouble interpreting the painting and offered his personal
assessment. He went on for over half an hour explaining how it
depicted the sexual emasculation of African Americans in a
predominately white, patriarchal society. 'In fact,' he pointed out,
'some serious critics believe that the pink penis also reflects the
cultural and sociological oppression experienced by gay men in
contemporary society'.
After the curator left, an Irishman approached the couple and said, 'Would
you like to know what the painting is really about?
''Now why would you claim to be more of an expert than the curator of the
gallery?', asked the couple. 'Because I am the artist who painted
the picture,' he replied. 'In fact, there are no African Americans
depicted at all.. They're just three Irish coal miners. The guy in
the middle went home for lunch.
