CapK, your story brings up something that has long bothered me. i have so much trouble understanding the uproar over the desecration of 'idols' and icons, including the American flag. i have no idea what the current status is on the legality of flag burning, but it's certainly always been an issue that garners much attention (a constitutional amendment, to the bill of rights of all things, was once narrowly avoided; the irony of this is almost humorous - adulterate a document that has remained unchanged for two centuries (an icon if there ever was one) with the hope of preserving the sanctity of another.)
while i find the concept of the Blessed Virgin wrapped in a condom more than a bit distasteful (incidently, i'm quite sure i don't agree that the painting you mention would bring me any pleasure as a dinner guest, or as a host, despite the assurance of it being a conversational catalyst
) my feeling is that the icon or idol's very purpose is to take on meaning for those that believe in its sanctity. thus, the Blessed Virgin in question is nothing more than the plastic it is made of, having been defiled such. ditto for the thousands of Saint Joseph statues that so unceremoniously find themselves head-down in a mudpile under a For Sale sign, and likewise for the flags.
i suppose all this rhetoric is simply to say that i agree with your contention the negative attention afforded art of this nature serves only to buoy the public's interest, and is quite possibly the driving force behind the artists' efforts.
