Jennie’s Palette

more disturbing? The other photo in the scandal - Miley and her father Billy Ray by Annie Liebovitz

Usually I actually ignore stories like these. this one especially appears to be a storm in a teacup, a media furor that seems to have little to do with the actual people involved. here is a collection of further editorials on the subject that I thought were a particularly fascinating read. I especially like so many members of the media taking the time to explain what a non event it is and how so much of the media is hyping it up, it appeals to the ironic in me I guess.

So why the moral uproar over a photograph which is essentially the same thing? Even if, as Greer purports, Leibovitz’s dirty postcard aesthetic depicts Cyrus as post-coital, or even worse a child prostitute and Disney her pimp, isn’t this just a depressingly conventional piece of iconography?

From That Miley Cyrus photograph: artsy or outrageous? | Art & architecture | Guardian Unlimited

The real question is why we are only now concerned about the sanctified purity of a teenaged superstar who struts around in mini-skirts selling concert tickets on the all-but-explicit promise, “Your kids will thank you, and Dad won’t necessarily be bored.” Somehow, Cyrus’s Vanity Fair photo has become the cue for a moral panic. An Associated Press writer explained: “It’s what the photo suggests rather than shows — the idea that she might be nude, perhaps even in bed — that bothered some parents.” When these people find out that we’re all nude under fabric all the time, how can the heavens fail to fall?

From
Internal Dissent: Miley Cyrus’s “nude” photo for Vanity Fair magazine - Full Comment

While there may be an uproar around Miley Cyrus’s “topless” photo for a Vanity Fair shoot, it’s possible that this photograph of Miley with “Achy, Breaky” dad Billy Ray Cyrus is more disturbing. Or maybe it’s just because we have never seen a daughter pose like this with her father. Here’s the Vanity Fair article about Miley–where she says of the topless photo, “I think it’s really artsy. It wasn’t in a skanky way.… And you can’t say no to Annie. She’s so cute. She gets this puppy-dog look and you’re like, O.K.”– and here’s the behinds-the-scenes about the photo shoot.

From Gothamist: More Creepy? Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus for Vanity Fair

Toilet, Graphic 40×32cm by Amin-ul-Islam
(photograph courtesy of the NAG)

Requesting anonymity, an artist told Daily Times that the NAG management should understand that the gallery was a public property and only such items should be put on display that pleased the public. “In a private gallery one can project the art one likes but at NAG one can’t risk projecting art of their choice,” he said.

Following the agenda of “enlightened moderation”, the PNCA is portraying women not more than an entity or a showpiece and more surprisingly three women own “Khazana”, which displays female nude.

There is a four-year contract of the souvenir shop between Nageen Rehman, Ghania Baddar and Attiya Zafar and the PNCA.

PNCA defends: Jamal Shah, PNCA Executive Director, said that nude art was a creation of senior artist Naseem Hafiz Qazi, which was put on display on a temporary basis. However, he denied its unacceptability by the public.

“It is just an allegation that people don’t like this art. In fact a huge number of people appreciate it,” he insisted.

He said the galleries and museums of the world project such art then why could not Pakistan project it. “The gallery should present all kinds of art and there is no harm in presenting nude art when a number of people like it,” he defended.

[From Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan - Nude art at Khazana shocks public]

I disagree that a museum’s job is to present work that appeals to everyone. I see it as the point of a museum to push our minds, to make us think of new concepts in new ways, to remember the mistakes of the past and to look towards the future. I think their role is to challenge and defy our conventions of thinking. I would even go so far as to say that the museum’s responsibility is to help us forge new cognitive paths forward.
I do think that it is very progressive of the Islamabad National Art Gallery to display nude artworks, a huge leap forward when so many middle eastern museums and galleries ban nude art as a matter of course. The outcry can hardly be unexpected given the conservative religious attitudes of many of it’s patrons. and to run two exhibitions recently with nudes is a big step that cannot have been undertaken lightly. The progressive attitude of this gallery continues with over 60% female artists. The gallery is laid out in a series of themed rooms, still lifes, landscapes and of course, nudes. the layout strikes me as a prudent way to display a key area of art and art history while still respecting the religious views of a large portion of the population.

A better image of the should-be winner - Nancy “beth” Reid’s nude.

In a followup to the recent story about robbing two young artists of a competition win and prize money for daring to enter nudes, several Virginian columnists have had their say about their feelings on the matter. These two articles particularly stuck in my mind as excellently worded chastisements on a very badly handled and badly executed debacle. Tamara Dietrich from The Daily Press had this to say:

No nudity? Say it right out. And don’t pre-screen 600-plus entries down to the 62 that De Groft was given to choose from, leave in “inappropriate” art, then call for a do-over when your juror makes his choice.

And next year? Good luck landing jurors with the stature of De Groft or Howe. Art experts tend to not take it well when their judgment gets publicly disrespected. When they’re assured they have absolute final say in selecting a winner … except not really.

In fact, why not leave art experts out of the equation entirely from now on and just hand the decision-making over to advertising and marketing.

[From Censoring winner of student art show is in poor taste -- Arts and Culture, Virginia, College of William and Mary -- dailypress.com]

And you know you may have made a bad decision when an employee columnist from the newspaper that started it all has this to say:

We in the news business go to great lengths to shield minors. Slapping a blue ribbon on a picture of a naked high school senior, perhaps reprinting the work in the paper and using it in a slide show, goes against our protective instincts.

The first judge departed and a second was summoned.

Enter Scott Howe, director of education and public programs at the Chrysler. He studied the works and selected a sculpture of a nude pregnant torso as best in the show.

The representatives of the paper groaned. No nudes, they said.

“I was told I wasn’t allowed to honor either girl in any way,” Howe said.

If that was the case, Howe said he told the organizers, they should remove those off-limit items from the judging. They refused. So he, too, walked o

[From What exactly was on display in student art competition? | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com]

Both Reid and Childs, the artists who were censored out of their rightful winnings have received checks from the community for the same amount as the prize money by way of saying sorry. It’s so nice to hear that the community has rallied to support these talented young artists.

The best image currently available of Nancy “Beth” Reid’s Controversial Work

Beth said she loves art history and appreciates the nudes she has seen in classical art. “It’s not perverted at all. Now, it’s almost like if you see a naked person it’s pornographic, and that’s not true.”

Student Gallery is a 36-year-old art contest open to any high school junior or senior in the region. This year, the show was judged three times.

The top winners chosen by the first two jurors were rejected because their work depicted nudity. Bruce Bradley, publisher of The Virginian-Pilot, on Friday took responsibility for the decision.

“While it’s true we don’t specifically address this in the rules and regulations, the concern I had was to have a 17-year-old girl do a self-portrait of herself in the nude,” Bradley said. “I thought that was inappropriate for the contest.

“This is why we did not name it the first-place winner.”

[From Art lovers raise money for teen who lost Student Gallery title | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com]

Three separate judges were brought in to choose a winner before the Pilot would finally accept one that was not nude in any way. The First judge selected Nancy ‘Beth’ Reid’s work as “head and shoulders above the rest”. this decision was overturned and another judge was accepted, this time choosing a nude sculpture by Jasmine Childs. There is little information on why this work was deemed also unacceptable, certainly pictures have been published of it, unlike the painting by Reid. This decision was also overturned. In the end the Pilot chose two of it’s own employees to judge the winner. it was awarded to Erin Ayres’ sculpture “Unveiled Tokens of Lonely and Deserted Past.”

“We honestly don’t believe those two pieces are appropriate to be held up as the winners of a high school art show, because they do depict the nude,” Pam Smith-Rodden, director of marketing for The Pilot, said at the time. The marketing department runs the Student Gallery. Two Pilot employees, one from the marketing department and one from advertising, were selected to conduct a third judging, from which a winner was chosen and announced Tuesday.

[From Virginia newspaper takes courageous stand against art, freedom of speech « ]

Reid’s description is perfectly appropriate and her concept is sound, as is Childs’. They both clearly thought about their works and produced them in a professional manner. Reid’s work is very discreet, There are almost no images of it but to me the pose is interesting and there is certainly nothing objectionable showing (no more than hipster pants reveal on a daily basis anyway) It is ridiculous that the competition was changed based on the entrants and laughable that judges were hired only to have their decisions overthrown. I can see where the paper might not want to publish an image of the piece for legal reasons. but to pull an award from teenagers who deserved it and then to keep the pieces in the show is a disgrace and complete hypocrisy.

I am heartened that the community has rallied to the side of Reid, raising money from the community to replace the winnings she certainly would have earned. it is a shame that she will not be able to claim the award on her applications to college, however the publicity surrounding this furor will help in place. I was especially thrilled to read this and agree whole heartedly.

She said she’s disappointed she won’t have the bragging rights that come with winning the Student Gallery, but assures 13News this will not be the last nude she paints.

Beth Reid says she thought she was being discreet with this painting.
“I’m almost glad this has happened, because, maybe this revolution is needed about nudity,” she said.

[From Newspaper vetoes judge's ruling that nude painting should win contest | TOP STORIES |
WVEC.com | News for Hampton Roads, Virginia]

M.F. Husain’s The battle of Ganga and Yamuna

In a letter to Christie’s, the Indian American Intellectual Forum, which has joined hands with Hindu Janjagruti Samiti on the campaign against Husain, said the artist has gained ignominy and notoriety in India by painting several Hindu gods and goddesses in derogatory forms. As part of Christie’s New York auction March 20 of modern and contemporary art from South Asia, Husain’s paintings are expected to fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars. One of them, “The Battle of Ganga and Yamuna” is estimated to rake in $600,000-$800,000. The forum president, Narain Kataria, has also sent a power point presentation to Christie’s, highlighting “Husain’s deliberate distortion and degradation of Hindu culture”. “Seven cases have been registered against him and six courts have issued arrest warrants against him. More than 28,000 people have signed a petition condemning Husain for his malicious attempts to vilify Hindus,” Kataria claimed. He added that Husain stood “condemned by the Indian Parliament for painting Mother India in the nude”. It was thus unbecoming, Kataria told Christie’s, on the part of the reputed art gallery to associate with Husain.
Read More…

Let us suppose for a moment that I understand the position on the Hindu extremists in India who are responsible for the exile of an artist. at what point do they cease having jurisdiction over his works? Not content with already exiling the artist they now feel a need to try to make him a pariah in other countries - especially one that is well known for it’s laws on freedom of expression, speech and religious freedom.
Christie’s has certainly never been shy about some of it’s more controversial auctions and this one appears to be no different. because Christie’s understands the concept of freedom of expression. I also suggest that they understand the concept that controversy sells as well.. Thanks to his beliefs, artworks and subsequent exile, MF Husain is now very hot on the primary and secondary markets. while I am sure that isn’t the reason for his controversial works, it can’t hurt. I wonder if the extremists realize that they are fueling his prices and his demand by creating more controversy?