It’s hard to know what stirs people up, why people are stirred up … the works divide people into supporters or detractors if you like. At that level it tends to leave very few people in the middle I think.
Archive for May, 2008
30
May
friday nude quotes
29
May
Small Works 2008
I will be showing my paintings again this year in BSG’s Small Works exhibition. I would love to attend but apparently my newfound stair climbing prowess is still not good enough to tackle the enormous schlep on those stairs. I’d love to hear about the exhibition from others and to see photographs if anyone manages to get some!
Brunswick St Gallery
2/322 Brunswick Street,
Fitzroy, Victoria 3065
Exhibition Runs from 6 - 19th June 2007
Opening Night: Friday the 6th 6 - 8pm
Opening Hours: Wednesday to Sunday 12-4pm
And just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s not art.
the key debate in the Bill Henson controversy is whether these images are pornographic. the case hinges on the phrase “depicted a child under the age of 16 years in a sexual context.” The murky area is the sexual context. as I have previously postulated, anything can be seen in a sexual light. there are some strange, strange people out there, but that I don’t think that these pieces are sexual in any way. This debate seems to have come right down to my favorite topic of nudes and sex.
Pornography is designed to be titillating, arousing, erotic. it is created with an end in mind, and that end is sexual gratification. Nude art is sometimes created for that purpose, but more often than not it is about other things. the nudity can be a symbol for freedom, youth, purity, innocence, fear, starkness, vulnerability, openness, hatred, vilification, aloneness, atonement.. I could go on and on. it is a choice and a powerful artistic subject conveying so much meaning and depth. it is a subject with a glorious history and a perennial favorite of artists everywhere.
There are those out there who are insisting that because it’s a nude, it’s sexual and because it’s sexual, it’s pornographic and therefore illegal. I want to know - why do these people see it as sexual? what is it about these pictures that is titillating? tell me please! am I missing something? because when I look at these pieces I see a nude child looking confused, lost and forlorn.
Support for Bill Henson and his art has been pouring in from all sides of the community. an open letter, signed by over 40 arts leaders in Australia - including actress Cate Blanchett, has been published in The Age calling for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to review his statement and the controversy surrounding the works.
The work itself is not pornographic, even though it includes depictions of naked human beings. It is more justly seen in a tradition of the nude in art that stretches back to the ancient Greeks, and which includes painters such as Caravaggio and Michelangelo. Many of Henson’s controversial images are not in fact sexual at all. Others depict the sexuality of young people, but in ways that are fundamentally different from how naked bodies are depicted in pornography. The intention of the art is not to titillate or to gratify perverse sexual desires, but rather to make the viewer consider the fragility, beauty, mystery and inviolabilty of the human body. In contrast, the defining essence of pornography is that it endorses, condones or encourages abusive sexual practice. We respectfully suggest that Henson’s work, even when it is disturbing, does nothing of the sort. I would personally argue that, in its respect for the autonomy of its subjects, the work is a counter-argument to the exploitation and commodification of young people in both commercial media and in pornographic images. Many of us have children of our own. The sexual abuse and exploitation of children fills us all with abhorrence. But it is equally damaging to deny the obvious fact that adolescents are sexual beings. This very denial contributes to abusive behaviour, because it is part of the denial of the personhood of the young. In my opinion, Mr Henson’s work shows the delicacy of the transition from childhood to adulthood, its troubledness and its beauty, in ways which do not violate the essential innocence of his subjects. It can be confronting, but that does not mean that it is pornography. Legal opinion is that if charges were laid against Mr Henson, he would be unlikely to be found guilty. The seizure of the photographs, and the possible prosecution of Mr Henson, the Rosyln Oxley9 Gallery or the parents of Henson’s subjects, takes up valuable police and court time that would be much better spent pursuing those who actually do abuse children.
[From Open letter in support of Bill Henson - National - theage.com.au]
Around the country, while some galleries are cravenly pulling their Henson pieces out of their collections and off the walls other galleries are standing firm and standing up for freedom of artistic expression.
In an act of solidarity with the embattled artist, leading dealer Denis Savill hung a Bill Henson image of two nude young people in the window of his Sydney gallery.
“This will give them something to grizzle about,” Mr Savill said as he hung one of the works from Henson’s 1992-1993 Untitled series.
Mr Savill, like many of his art industry colleagues, was appalled when police last week confiscated photographs by Henson - one of Australia’s leading contemporary artists - and decided to hang the picture beside an Arthur Boyd nude, “to remind people that nudes have inspired artists for centuries”.
[From Defiance as gallery tests boundaries | The Australian]
This travesty of a case is already being likened to Hitler’s book burning and Howard’s Children Overboard scandal. the media seems to be turning itself and has stopped referring to the artworks in question as “”art”" and now seems to be on the side of the besieged artist. Some have been wondering if all this is a desperate bid by the PM to regain right wing votes but it seems very ill conceived to me. International media have been discussing Australia’s history of censorship and restrictions in artistic “freedom” and are referring to Australia as a cultural backwater, a country that handles it’s artistic resources like a tyranny.
It is now the task of art historians, critics and fellow artists to explain Henson’s work and defend his status as one of our finest artists. Their job is almost impossible.
The current debate about the representation of children and adolescents is so charged that anyone who disagrees with claims that pedophilic images are proliferating before our eyes is open to the charge of pedophilia themselves.
Henson’s work is art and, as such, it falls into a different cultural category to the ads for kids’ clothes and the tween magazines that have been the central focus of this debate. But these distinctions are irrelevant to people who believe that visual representations of children and adolescents are the real source of child abuse.
I have been thinking further about the issue of sexualization of teens in art. I think if the case against Bill Henson were to go through we will start to see extreme limitations in the freedom of expression and artistic freedom. we will also see a harsh and difficult change in the way we handle teenagers and the way they see themselves. This article fascinated me because I think there is a real fear that if you aren’t shocked and offended by Bill Henson’s artworks you are obviously a pedophile. I think that is the reason so many other galleries are following suit. it’s almost gestapo tactics.
I wonder what it says about the person who sees these pieces and immediately thinks they’re sexual. is it automatically because they are nude or is it because they felt a response and assumed others did as well? or is it that all emotional responses to a nude work, especially one of a nude minor, must be either outrage or titillation? I had an emotional response when I saw the first uncensored piece in the age. it was one of almost sadness, a fear for her going through puberty and experiencing so many new things, physically and emotionally. it reminded me of going through puberty myself and the uncertainty of it all - a sense of pride warring with fear.
Viewing this website forcibly reminded me of the dangers of fetishising innocence. School uniforms may well titillate pedophiles and prompt them to commit crimes. But is banning school uniforms the correct response?
If we go down the path of saying that all images of children and young adolescents can only portray them as ideal Brady Bunch kids, then we will spend our lives, as a society, looking for images of corrupted children and teenagers everywhere. Worse, we risk looking at every image through the lens of the pedophile.
I agree with this, by trying to anticipate what might turn a pedophile on we may be stepping into their shoes and thereby, not only destroying our own view of art, but possibly ruining the experience for others. the reality is that there are sick people in the world. there are people who will get turned on by the images of corpses in CSI, who will get excited by the shoes in a catalogue or even the feet in the Sound of Music (read this article for more on that surprising development). so what can we do? we can stop trying to predict them, stop trying to anticipate what they might find titillating and risk damaging freedom of art and expression, the reputations of renowned artists and focus instead on making sure our children are safe and educated. that they have control over their bodies and their own sexuality. I don’t want to step into a pedophile’s shoes, I don’t want to try to think like they do. and I don’t want to see beautiful artwork degraded just because some strange person might think it’s sexy.
if this goes ahead, what is on the cards next- huggies ads? Anne Geddes? where do we draw the line?
Officers raided the Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, in Paddington in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, just before the exhibition was due to open on Thursday night. They seized 20 of Henson’s images which feature a naked girl and boy said to be aged 12 to 13.NSW Police Force has said it intends to lay state and federal charges, and the investigation has also gone interstate as the young girl is understood to be living in Victoria. Rose Bay Local Area Commander Superintendent Allan Sicard said the seized images depicted a child under the age of 16 years “in a sexual context”.
Commonwealth charges could be laid over the gallery’s website with state charges applying to the pictures, he said.
The raid, and the prospect of an artist facing criminal charges, has reignited the debate about what constitutes art.
[From Law Society backs nude child pics artist - Breaking News - National - Breaking News]
I have been so angry about this whole mess that I haven’t been able to write coherently till now. I don’t know what has me more outraged. the police raid and seizures, the statement by Prime minister Kevin Rudd that these works are ‘revolting’, the galleries that are also pulling Bill Henson’s works from their collections or the constant newspaper articles referring to these artworks, by one of Australia’s premier artists, as ‘”art”‘. At the same time I am heartened by the reactions of the art community and the NSW law society that have rallied behind Bill Henson.
The fact that people can debate whether these works are art or not is an outrage. the fact that the PM of Australia has gone on record saying these works have “no artistic merit” is downright disgraceful. whether you like the pieces or not they are the epitome of art and artistic intention. they are beautiful and pure and definitely not sexualized in any way.
Henson has explored many themes in his long and successful career but frequently returns to the notion of innocence, coming of age, adolescence and the confusion, fear and emotion of that age. captured between the innocence of youth and the freedom of adulthood these teens are neither sexual nor innocent and uncertain of where they stand. the stark reality of Henson’s works is what is truly gripping. the uncertainty is palpable and it is probably that which has everyone in a bind. It’s honesty is so compelling.
the key word here is sexualized. and sexualization of minors is an issue. but these pieces are not pornographic, they are not titillating or sexy. I think they are the opposite in fact. Henson has always received permission from his subjects and their parents and is noted by other artists and his models for conscientiousness. the treatment of him in this case is disgusting.
23
May
friday nude quotes
One should go through life, be it red or blue, stark naked and accompanied by the music of a subtle fisherman.
22
May
Turpentine
I’ve been oil painting for years now. Perhaps too many. It’s my favorite medium, I love the blending and the drying time, the luminosity, translucency and the feel. I even love the stinky reek of turps - which I’ve always been rather sloppy with. Lately, however, I’ve noticed that when I paint I often feel quite sick afterwards. Dizzy, nauseous and itchy, with a raw nose, throat and headaches. it all came to a head the other day when I started cleaning my palette (which I really should do more often!) and I was sick all day and the next day afterwards. I know not all of it can be attributed to my disability and turpentine allergies can build in the system over time. Now, Liam has never liked the smell of turps anyway (the odorless is worse though, much worse for both of us) so it’s time something was done. I have enough poisons and problems with my system without adding further ones to the mix, I wanted to upgrade to better quality paints anyway so today I took the plunge and ordered some Windsor and Newton Artisan Oil Paints.
these are legitimate oils in every sense, but the oil in them has been treated to accept water rather than repel it, meaning that they can be cleaned with soap and water. apparently they handle exactly the same way. I also chose to order only safe pigment bases, I will probably add the more poisonous ones later but for now I want to give my system a break. plus ordering from overseas, the heavy metal based pigments can create a problem - I probably need to buy them here. I will post a review when they arrive and I have a chance to play but for now I can breathe a sigh of relief.
oh, and try to ignore the Rosenbaum part of my brain that is telling me to quickly use up everything I have left!
21
May
Why do I love twitter?
Like so many others I have recently become addicted to twitter. before, it was just another site that notifications of blog posts went out to. Then I guess I became a victim of my all time favorite ploys “because I can” and “because it might be useful some day.” I connected it to Facebook, then my mobile, then twhirl, then I may as well add Pownce and Jaiku seeing as twhirl posts to them as well. I blame Ecto which started it all with it’s handy little blog notification tool.
Why do I love twitter?
I work from home, alone (while Liam is at work). I have the cats to keep me company but to be honest - they sleep a lot and get grumpy when I talk to them and wake them up. I don’t miss my old day job, but I do miss the camaraderie, people to share thoughts with, no matter how little or banal. my blog is one way I reach out to people, I love the chance to converse about my favorite topics. But what do you do with all those small thoughts? the what ifs, the hey this site is cool, the OMG my website just died, the little rants and raves that make up our day? and more importantly, where can you hear others sharing theirs? twitter is my background noise, my water cooler, my way of realizing that there are other people out there. I tend to get very insular and agoraphobic if I don’t maintain human contact and twitter is the ideal way for me to do that without giving up my privacy to paint or overly distracting me from work.
a critical look at Benefits Supervisor Sleeping by Lucian Freud
So many people are asking - why? why this painting? I have heard (and read) people saying that it’s ugly, that they wouldn’t accept it for free, let alone pay the highest price yet paid for a living artist. so why did this painting fetch this price?
I could go into the fact that the actual piece is huge, that it took two years to paint, that it’s a work by a modern master who has dedicated his life to his painting. Or I could mention the market fluxes such as the fact that Lucien Freud is huge in the market at the moment, that his works have been seeing a surge in prices in the past few years - but what I really want to talk about is the feel of this work and why it is actually beautiful rather than ugly.
Some of you may remember back in the dimdarks when I waxed on at great length about beauty. I quoted my favorite Heinlein quote and I think in this case it applies. Freud painted here, a woman exactly how she is. he pointed out every flaw, every shred of humanity and forces us to acknowledge that - but to also see that that reality is what is beautiful, those flaws are what makes her a person and that as a person she is beautiful. he is saying look at this woman, she isn’t perfect, she has her flaws but she is a work of art - every person holds within them a work of art because we all have beauty. This piece, quite frankly, makes the world a more beautiful place.
…at least, that is what I see in it - what do you see?
