Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Censored Art

I'm going to put this article out there and see what people think. (I did pull out student's names) Question: how old do you have to be to enjoy freedom of expression?

3 censored paintings may be sold
Associated Press
ROY — Three paintings by a Roy High School student that were removed from a school art show are attracting interest and could be sold or possibly displayed in a Los Angeles gallery. High school administrators removed the oil paintings by (student). One painting was of a female breast and a hand overlaid by a black censor line. Another depicted a woman's torso, a hand, and the lower half of cleavage. The third showed two hands on a curved hip. Roy High art teacher Jeffrey Lowe, who defends the art, said he has since received two phone calls from people wondering if (student) wanted to sell the paintings. One person also called from California and wants to get the pictures displayed in a gallery, Lowe said. (student) said she is open to selling the paintings but has no idea how much to charge. "It's all new to me," said (student), who is headed to Weber State University in the fall to major in art.
District administrators said (student's) paintings were causing a disruption. Some students and faculty had complained about the pieces, saying they were offensive. The weeklong art show was in the school's main foyer. Principal Lee Dickemore declined to comment Wednesday. The 17-year-old artist's left hand is underdeveloped and allows for little movement. "No wonder she is drawing hands," said writer Wendy Toliver, 32, of Eden. "Her art is beautiful to me," Toliver said. "I would love it in my office. It's gorgeous. It's not vulgar to me." (student's) paintings are the only ones that have been removed, though some others also have drawn complaint. These include several that show a boy and girl kissing, and a work called "The Bather," which displays a woman's upper buttocks. Some parents say high school isn't the place for some pieces of art. "It's probably not things I would want my high school child to see," said Michelle Marshall, and her daughter, (another student), a junior, agrees. "High school students don't view art in a very mature way," she said. "They would be laughing at it."
Svetlana Mintcheva, director of Arts Advocacy for the National Coalition Against Censorship, said art is protected by the First Amendment. "Removing it shows ignorance of art history and a religious standard gone amok," she said.
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600129782,00.html

5 comments:

  1. I hate incidents like this, because it degrades art as a part of humanity. If something can garner a headline, then people become intrigued and the message that is sent is that talent and creativity don't matter. You simply need to be able to make headlines. Monet wouldn't have stood a chance, had he been born in this era.

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  2. was there such a premade template on blogger? because it's the most beautiful i've ever seen. *starry eyed*

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  3. It is too bad in a country where we cherish freedom so much that some try to make it only free for them. And it seems that nobody gets more censorship than those devoted to the arts. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. This to me is what is wrong with the world.
    Since when are painting such as that obscene. Does anyone not really understand the obscenities are going on in the world as we speak they are not being painted by a high school artist.

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  5. Interesting.
    Art is art. But art does not confine to the world of academia. I can see how the school would have a problem. I also see how the student's work should just be left alone. Let's be realistic. By high school most people have seen a naked body or two.

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