ART

New Corcoran Director: The Corcoran Gallery of Art, rocked by controversy over homoerotic art and censorship, Monday named art historian David C. Levy as its president and director, effective Jan. 1. Levy, 52, succeeds Christina Orr-Cahall, who resigned earlier this year after an uproar involving a Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit of photographs, which was canceled following pressure from members of Congress and conservative activists. Trying to put the Mapplethorpe controversy behind it, the Corcoran issued a statement affirming artistic freedom, saying that the museum “is committed to the preservation and enhancement of freedom of speech, thought, inquiry and artistic expression through its exhibition and educational activities. . . .”