"CRIMINAL investigations into Bill Henson have widened to include previous work by the controversial photographer, after police received complaints about several Henson works on display at a regional gallery" the Sydney Morning Herald reports today.
"Police advised the Albury Regional Art Gallery to take down several photographs by the artist dating back to 1985, after they received a complaint from the public about 'inappropriate' images, which they are investigating," it says.
It has also come to my attention that a national art magazine, which had a Bill Henson image on the front cover was pulled from shelves on Friday.
If what I have been told is true, this could be the first of many acts of self-censorship which relate directly to the possible charge of Bill Henson. This is one of the worst possible outcomes to this whole affair.
I have been trying to find out what magazine it is, but there is a wall of silence around galleries and the visual arts community. If anyone knows anything about it please let me know. (UPDATE: Wall of silence no more. Good old Katrina Strickland from the the Australian Financial Review today revealed the magazine was a new bimonthly Art World. And it has cost the publisher $100,000 to pulp the 25,000 copies 'because it featured works confiscated by the NSW Police).
Meanwhile, the debate keeps humming along.
In Crikey, Clive Hamilton follows up on his Friday treatise saying;
"All art engages with culture, at least good art does. Henson has been praised by critics and supporters for challenging our sensibilities and pushing the boundaries of social acceptability. So why is Henson, by all accounts a garrulous man, refusing to defend his work?"
Gary Sauer-Thompson in Junk for Code says;
"So Henson's work has been chosen by moral and cultural conservatives to make a stand against postmodernism, nihilism, pornography, consumerism etc etc. Not one again that there no argument for his slippery slope claim that it is art that has lead to a world surrounded by crass, vulgar and obscene images rather than the capitalist market."
Paul Sheehan of The Herald also weighs in;
"For many years he has explored the beauty of youth and the awakening of sensuality, which are legitimate subjects for art and always have been. He has inhabited this terrain thoughtfully. His latest exhibition appears to continue in this vein. Which is why the decision taken by the police to confiscate a number of his photographs was an overreaction, even if the electric jolt of public unease he has received in recent days is justified."
The Age has an editorial today which argues;
"No longer can one claim what might be called the Caravaggio defence, whereby works depicting prepubescent nudity are for the eyes of a limited numbers of beholders."
Phillip Adams in The Australian sits on the opposite;
"Having crusaded against what I've branded corporate pedophilia for years, Henson is the last person I'd be charging. His esoteric and melancholy photographs for the art gallery elite are not the problem. It's in mass media that our kids are sexualised, that childhood is shortened and short-changed, rendered erotic for adult fun and profit."
Meanwhile, the Museum of Contemporary Art came out with their opinion on the matter;
"In response to the recent seizure of works by artist Bill Henson from his current exhibition at Roslyn Oxley 9 Gallery in Paddington, Sydney, the Museum of Contemporary Art wishes to issue the following statement:
"The Museum of Contemporary Art deplores the seizing of work by respected contemporary artist Bill Henson by the police and the threat of charges against the artist and gallery owners Roslyn and Tony Oxley.
"MCA Director Elizabeth Ann Macgregor said: 'Throughout history, artists have dealt with controversial subjects. Indeed one of roles of contemporary art is to explore sometimes difficult issues that are relevant to modern society. It is surely not a matter for the police or the courts.'
"'To quote NSW Premier Neville Wran when he instructed the police to return the seized works of Juan Davila in 1982: 'I do not think art has got anything to do with the vice squad'. Public debate on controversial issues and the role of art, particularly in the fast changing world of new technology, can and should take place in the public arena - the seizing of artworks should not.'"
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
The Censorship Begins
Posted by Nicholas Pickard at 9:25 am
Labels: Censorship, News, Visual Arts
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5 comments:
For my money one of the greatest living black and white photographers is Sally Mann, with her luminous, eerie, sometimes troubling but beautiful photos of her own children, taken through all the years of childhood, and often nude. Books of her photos exist in every serious bookshop. Will Hetty Johnston, Kevin and the rest of the Queensland witch-hunters now burn the books and prosecute the bookshop owners? This is dangerous stuff--not funny at all.
A lot is being made of Henson's status...the real issue should be freedom of expression...what if the works came from an 'unknown'...who should have the same right to create as Henson.
Well, Chris, Mr. Unknown is called a pedophile, that's the issue,
if we allow Henson to get away with it, we have to allow Gary Glitter to change the focus of his career and to buy a cheap camera.
As pro-pedophiles throw themselves at this issue, what we are seeing is the pro-Henson camp being made indistimguishable from that constituency.
You can't legislate for talent, we can't make an exception for Henson's peculiar habits, we just can't. This is not a parochial issue, this is very scary to those of us who have been supporting the FBI, it is frightening.
What we have at the moment, is that the primary user of that photo is a pedophile, not a connoiseur of art or photography. That material was going into overdrive on the internet before the police raided anything.
It is fast becoming the iconic braqnd image for a global pedophilia which is making a case for themseloves as a persuted sexual minority.
Gregory Carlin
Director
Irish Anti--Trafficking Coalition
I tell you what Gregory - I absolutely refuse to live in a world dictated to by a fear of those with mental illnesses such as paedophilia.
Have all the hysteria you want. But leave me out of it.
I done a Amazon book service criminal profile search for related 'art'. You know pedophile buys X and also bought Y.
Cate & Alison may have quite a few sign-on letters to do to help these latter day Caravaggios
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
Why bubble baths? Because I, like everyone else, wanted to see what happens behind that door when a lovely girl undresses and takes a bath. It is a time of intimacy, privacy, and vulnerability, not often seen by others. These girls came by in cute little outfits that showed off their personalities. They wore t-shirts with kitschy phrases written on them, or short flowery dresses that were easy to remove. Sometimes I had the girls get out of the tub soaking wet, run to another room, pose for some photos, and then run back to the tub. The girls brought over props too--jump ropes, toys, hats, tiaras, guitars, bubbles, hand puppets, miniature pumpkins, a yorkshire terrier, an iguana, and a duck made out of soap. There's nothing like a beautiful young woman, wet and playful.
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