On my easel… New steampunk nude!
“We’ve only just begun…” The placement for this figure was an enormous challenge as there are large steampunk wings coming in later. I have less than a month to finish this piece so it’s going to be a hard slog to get it all done to the quality I want!
There are times I wish I could save it as it is. I really like the way it looks now, but I can’t wait to see it finished either! Ah well, that’s what photographs are for!
The finished work will be appearing in a very cool steampunk show during Loréal fashion week so stay tuned!
What is it about a nude that’s offensive?
At my local shopping center there is a massage place. The poster in the window has a nude woman’s back and the prices extending down her spine. It’s a cute concept until you get to the lower region.
This woman has buttocks, but no dividing line.
You can see where the heal tool was used, and you know that even with some shapes there is no way that this woman was born without a buttcrack.
In Japan, anime with nude breasts can be shown on any channel at anytime- providing the nipples are removed.
In many countries the tiniest bikini (an inch covering the butt and nipples) is enough to satisfy propriety while nudity or g-strings aren’t.
The details, it seems, must be covered or removed.
This makes me wonder. Is it the breast that’s “offensive” or is it the nipple? Are buttocks a problem or just the crack? Why are they offensive? Is it because the are the functional part of that zone? Or because they are the defining characteristics of those dodgy areas? If nipples are the offender then why are men’s acceptable?
Consider this an open forum, I want to hear your thoughts on these questions!
Render in progress
Well, that was a nice break! I’ve had a chance to relax and a chance to be sick as well. Yay. but now it’s time to get back to work. This year I want to try writing shorter posts and see how that goes. The plan is to actually publish more. We shall see!
A lot of my Daz time of late has been more technical in nature, a lot of tweaking and experimentation. I have some new toys that I have been practicing with! This is the result of some experimentation and I love the eerie light quality! I still want to tweak the head a little, but it’s coming along really well, I look forward to painting it up.
2011 in review
2011 was a massive mix of highs and lows for me. I don’t want to dwell on the lows, 2012 is about moving forward and building on my successes of the past year. I hope, wherever you are, that you will take a moment to farewell the bad points of 2011 and happily remember the good. I hope no matter what 2011 was like for you, 2012 will be better! I am proud of the accomplishments I made this year, and the people I met. The milestones I saw others reach and the achievements of everyone around me. This is a list of the things I am proudest about from 2011.
- I painted and painted and painted some more, my skills were increased and I know that I made some of my best work this year.
- my studio is a sanctuary. It is incomplete, but it’s going well and is a constant source of joy.
- I participated in lots of exhibitions. I unleashed my inner geek.
- I saw opportunities and I found shows in unlikely locations.
- two students interviewed me for their assignments on artists and inspirational art
- I did a public interview with Phantomimic
- I was invited to speak on a panel in Sydney and overcame my fear of public speaking to speak about a subject very close to my heart. I am intensely proud of this
- I saw Bill Henson speak twice, I asked him a question in front of thousands of people and cameras
- I filled my life with art and watched how that influenced my toddler to start creating.
- I made contacts with some really lovely people.
- I became more confident in talking to others and marketing face to face
- I made good sales even in this economy. Not as good as some years but still enough to be proud of.
- my affiliate marketing started paying real dividends, rather than just supporting my online costs. it provided a steady stream of income to supplement my art income.
- I watched a wonderful artist recover and survive a terrible beating with the health stick and come back fighting and ready to take his art career to the next level.
- I learned to ask for what I want, and make more of every opportunity
- I was one of 32 artists selected to be a finalist in the Art Revolution Taipei international art competition. Over 2500 artists entered!
- I got a new imac, it’s awesome. it picked up my rendering times no end.
- I started physics based rendering, I’m still really new at it.
- I watched Erica start to walk, and talk more, watched her love of books and drawing grow and watched her develop in so many ways. I’m very lucky to work from home so I can still share in these special moments!
- I overcame my fear of cameras a bit and started posing again. I intend to conquer my fear more and get some new profile pictures soon!
- I completed my 505050 project, despite paper shortages and uploading problems. Not all the works are up yet but I completed them in time. this is a pretty big effort!
- I redid my website, new back end, new design and all new traffic! it looks pretty sweet. I have more to do but I’m very happy with how it is going.
- People told me I was their hero. You can’t get cooler than that!
7 things my toddler has taught me about art
One of the joys of being a parent is watching your child grow and discover new things. This often means you get the delight of rediscovering the simple pleasures in life. Erica is an arty little toddler, she has taken to drawing and painting like a duck to water. Ever since her eyes developed she has loved looking at art, tilting her head to the side to consider works for quite a long time. She loves going all over the house looking at my paintings and I really value her opinion! When a new one is introduced she tells me all about it. One of her first words was “draw” and we hear it many times a day. She draws with a ferocity and concentration. She grips the crayon or pencil and goes for her life! Here are some of the tips I have picked up on art appreciation from my curios toddler.
Seven – 8×8 Oils on Canvas
Seven 8×8 Oils on Canvas
$150
Currently at ArtBoy Gallery
I love the Borg. I think they are one of the best enemies introduced by Star Trek. they are so..human. they appropriate from everywhere to add to their perfection. they take our distinctiveness and add it to their own. they augment and corrupt rather than create, but everything they do serves to create more drones operating on the hive mind. The borg are captives, taken and converted. their memories shared amongst every other borg and their identity lost. their original species is lost. all that remains is the drone.
In Voyager they introduced Seven of Nine and converted her back. it was a long, slow process involving the stripping away of her borg components and extricating her from the hive mind. in doing so, they turned her from one of the most interesting borg, a princess in training to be a queen, a real tough bitch, into a robotic pin-up. there is fan art everywhere for Seven of Nine. she became a fanboi fantasy and one of the sexiest characters to come out of Star Trek. Everyone paints her as she is better known, corsetted with the small, cute, borg accessories. I wanted to show the original Seven of Nine. I painted her at the cusp of becoming human, as she works with Voyager. I wanted to remove the sexiness and show the indecision, the corruption, the raw human underneath. I think many fan art pictures of her focus on the sexy and in showing her as a human remove her personality. I wished to show her as a borg and show her humanity in that.
Come see this painting and other Sci-Fi themed works this Friday at ArtBoy Gallery! FanBoy vs ArtBoy: Science Fiction Opens Friday night 6-8 and runs through to the 4th of December. I will be at the opening and I’d love to see you there!
Inspiration, shiny syndrome and the search for a penseive
Many artists say that to be a professional you need to rid yourself of the notion of inspiration. that you have to create all the time regardless of feeling inspired or motivated or artistic. That you should always create. And I agree, to a certain extent, we should always create, it is part of what makes us artists, and business people. The more you create, the more you want to create. The easier art comes. The better your technique, the better you can produce what you see in your mind’s eye. The more you practice the better you get. It’s that way with everything, writing, music, stock trading, the more you do it, the better you get, the more you enjoy it and the more people respond. But, I also believe that if you are open to inspiration, if you are always on the lookout, then inspiration can strike anywhere, anytime. My problem is that I have too much inspiration, so I am always excited about what I am working on… All 5 or 10 projects! I get overwhelmed by having too much that excites and interests me. And when that happens I go into overload mode and can’t create enough. That becomes a self feeding loop. But if I put a project on the back burner, then it is no longer shiny when I go to pick it up and the way has been blocked by another bunch of shinys.
Shiny Syndrome is a terrible curse to bear at times, but it is also wonderful for constantly finding new sources of inspiration. at any given time, in my mind, I will be working on 2 blog series, 3 blog posts, 2 new blog ideas, a newsletter (that I probably won’t send), a bunch of tweets, 2 exhibition concepts, 3 full sized paintings, 2 renders, 5 sketches and about 10 unformed concepts. And a partridge in a pear tree. And that’s just work stuff. So sometimes my brain wants to explode!
Do you remember the pensieve in the Harry Potter books? I think most artists would give an ear for something like that!
When I get overwhelmed I tend to hide away. this doesn’t do me, or my art, any favors. I need to learn to mitigate my Shiny Syndrome and put it to work for me, instead of against me.
What do you do to sort out all the ideas in your head? Do you have a pensieve system?
Warp – 13x19cm Watercolor on Paper
Warp I
19×13
Watercolor and Pencil on Cold Pressed paper
It’s been a challenge creating and uploading these small artworks, but a real pleasure as well. the color and delightful shapes of the human form just continue to thrill me. this one is available on my website, along with all the others at http://www.jennierosenbaum.com and they’re only $50 each!
Profound – 19×13 cm Watercolor and Pencil on Cold Pressed paper
Profound
19×13 cm Watercolor and Pencil on Cold Pressed paper
Every Day for 50 days I will be posting a watercolor for $50. stay tuned to my 50/50/50 project on my website, on my Facebook page, or on twitter!
Look, even I paint men from time to time! this project is really helping me expand my horizons in terms of models, and in terms of seeing. I’m exploring color, shape, halftomes, lines and more but mostly I’m just explaoring the joy of the human figure. check out all my works to date on my website!
Looking for small, unique gifts? these watercolor nudes will brighten up your holidays! buy them as a present for yourself or for someone special. they are ideal for slipping into a card or framing in a set or on their own. they work beautifully in small spaces. these works are colorful, bright and unique. show your individual flair this holidays and give the gift of original art.
Too rude? Speech part 3: nude models and artistic merit.
Part one and part two have already been published. This is the third and final part of my 10 minute speech for Sydney University’s Tuesday Talks program. Frequent readers may recognize some passages here, I couldn’t improve on them!
When I initially wrote about the Bill Henson scandal a number of people told me that I would feel differently once I was a parent. As if that would change who I am. I am proud to say that i am now the mother of a little girl and my views have not changed. I believe, as I did then, that if she were approached by an artist to be a model I would support her. That isn’t to say that I wouldn’t do my due diligence on the artist to ensure they were on the level, and I would be there with her. But the decision is not mine, it would be hers.
One thing that struck me about the model known as N, the adolescent in the image seen on the invitations that caused much of the furor, is that when interviewed she discussed all the considerations she made before modeling. She considered how she felt about her body, how she may feel about school mates seeing her in the nude and how she might feel about it years later.
The most important thing to realize is that what you take away from viewing an artwork is not just what the artist puts in, it’s what you bring to it as well.
Your past affects it as much or even more than the artist’s intentions.
Everyone sees art differently which is why it is difficult to judge, and why it should never be stifled.
artistic merit should not become a goto excuse for pornographers, that harms us artists more than anyone – but it must be allowed. we cannot create under a blanket of censorship and we cannot be the artists we need to be without freedom to create. art has the power to challenge our views, to make us think and and to change the world. I believe that the arts are one of the most powerful forces of humanity and should never be denied.
There is a difference, too, between sexual and sensual. There are as many shades of gray as there are stages of undress. Art can be arousing. It should be arousing. It should inspire passion. Not just sexually, but in all things. Arousal and passion are not just the pervue of sexuality, but of life. And art is life
Suspension WIP – 24×30 Oils on Canvas (detail)
Suspension Work in Progress
Oils on Canvas
Filigree and Lace and Cogs oh my. I’m keeping the lace lighter and airier than last time, a contrast from the steel filigree goggles and the heavy cog above it all. This was last weeks work, blocking in the background, glazing details and starting the massive cog undertaking. the figure is almost complete, it’s really about the detailing now. I have yet to use any black, a complete change for me. deeper tones have been blended using umbres and paynes gray or ultramarine. they are creating some very alive warm and cool blacks. I’m paying a great deal of attention to temperature in this piece, even more than I usually do, as it seems that slightly different hues go a long way towards making metal look convincing.
I have a lot of projects coming up at the moment, so while I will be continuing this series (I do love it so!) I will be working on some other things as well.
Too rude? Speech part two – adolescent nudity in art
Part one is here..
These days the nude appears to have become more controversial as the line between nudity and sexuality has been blurred. The prevalence of porn and sexualized images In the media have led to an automatic association between nudity and sex. A belief that nudity is dirty, wrong, and disgraceful. All of this has led to nude art being pushed to the back corner, far from being the classic and honored subject of artists everywhere.
There is no image of vulnerability more powerful than that of a naked child. Take for example the iconic Vietnam Napalm photograph. Would this picture have as much impact if she was an adult? If she was clothed? The image of her running down the street, naked and screaming, is real, it’s powerful and it’s become a symbol for the horrors of war everywhere. This photograph won the Pulitzer and world press photo of the year.
A nude child is the image of vulnerability, of change. It automatically triggers protective instincts. Good art has the power to move us. It inspires emotion.
Would Bill Henson’s works be as emotive if the children were clothed? if they were small breasted adults? His works capture a moment in time. A fragile period in a teen’s life. These works make us empathize with the subject, I have heard abuse sufferers consider them both triggering works and uplifting and encouraging. Other see a coming of age, loss of innocence. fragile, strong. Whatever you see in this work you cannot deny that it has an emotional impact and that is the purpose of art.
The scandal with Brook Shields and the Gary Gross/Richard prince photographs is another good example. Gary Gross took photographs of a pre-teen Brook Shields for a magazine. These works were highly sexualized, with brook painted with oil and makeup. They were exceptionally adult, and in very poor taste. Brook shields did not get a say in modeling for these works, nor how they were used later on. Many years later Richard Prince took a photograph of the original Gary Gross, then changed it. The final work was seedier and turned the original on it’s ear. Where the first seemed to celebrate child pornography, the Prince version used the same image to condemn it. It still uses a sexualized image of an adolescent, but by using that image to make the viewers uncomfortable it made an excellent point about not turning a blind eye to child pornography.
Suspension WIP – 24×30 Oils on Canvas
Suspension 24×30 Oils on Canvas
So I have begun the massive process. the work is further along than this now, but I have been slack in photographing and uploading my WIPs. I’m too busy working to catalogue it all! we have also started putting up a ceiling in my studio. this should help protect against the australian summer, and protect my neighbors against all the singing and swearing that emerges from my studio.
Too rude? Speech part one – my work
As I edited my speech from last week for posting, I realized it was way too long for a single post! This is the first part, about my work. I was introduced beautifully so I only needed to discuss my work itself. Some of these phrases will form part of my new artist statement.
“My artwork explores the nude figure. I find the human body to be a marvel, not just of engineering and design, but also of poetry and emotion. I am endlessly fascinated by what lies beneath, beneath clothes, beneath the layers of pain and beneath the masks we wear.
Nude Art is our history. It is our expression and our drive. It shows our growth as human beings and our evolution emotionally.
I mostly paint women. Strong, elegant and emotional, I capture different aspects of what it is to be a woman. I have been drawn to a difficult arena as censorship grows and fear over the nude body reaches fever pitch.
That is why I have dedicated myself to debunking myths about nude art. I want to show the world the beauty I see in the human body and share my firm belief that nudity is not threatening, it is not always sexual and it is here to stay.”
To sydney and back again..
Yesterday I had the great joy of presenting on a panel at Manning Bar in the beautiful Sydney university. As part of the verge arts festival and the regular Tuesday talks program the topic was Too Rude? Nudity, art and adolescence. I was honored to be invited and delighted when they offered to fly me out for the event! this was my first time flying since the accident and I was nervous to be out and about without my carer and husband not to mention being away from my little girl! I am also Not a Morning Person so you can imagine my trepidation going forward.
I have to say, everyone was delightful. From Virgin Australia and their meet and greet program for special needs passengers, to Tui at the university, Joanne and Amy the other panelists, the wonderful cabby who raced to try to get me to my flight on time, the wonderful woman at virgin who did not charge me for a whole new ticket but only a small fee (the guy in front of me was not so lucky, he was being rude, I think that makes all the difference!) and Liam and Erica for being very patient with me though the whole thing!
I generally have a great fear of public speaking so I kept expecting the fear to set in. but it never did! I was prepared but not over prepared and I knew my subject backward and forward as I’ve been writing about it for years! I felt good about the way I spoke, I didn’t stutter and only let a couple of tiny ums out. the only unfortunate thing (apart from missing my flight..) was that it was a magnificently sunny day and so the crowd was much less than expected. That’s a shame, but I can’t be too sorry as I really did enjoy myself immensely!
I will edit my speech and put it up for reading next week.
Why being obsessive produces better art
The more I get absorbed in this complex steampunk series the more I wonder about my obsessive tendencies and artists in general.
Recently, I’ve been having a hard time painting, something was gnawing at the back of my mind. Like a face I couldn’t put a name to it was elusive and irritating.
Something was Not Quite Right in my last painting. The geometry of the gear was off. I didn’t like the model I chose to begin with and have since gotten some better gears, so I decided to redo from start. Or at least, redo the gear.
Just the act of making this decision was galvanizing. suddenly I wanted to be in the studio all the time again! On a roll, i also decided to revisit the gold embellishments on the bustle, to bring them into the shadows better and connect the shapes more. I painted furiously, and it has paid off. A little obsessive prod that was poking me has subsided. The itch stopping me from continuing to the next painting, that was thawing doubt up in the way has passed and I am fired up and ready to continue.
Sometimes obsessiveness can harm a piece, it can lead to overworking and losing a sense of motion, spontaneity and immediacy that draws people in.
Flip 2 – steampunk Daz render
Flip – Daz Studio 4 Render
I love this pose so much I just have to keep playing! It’s odd how something changes with the angle. At the moment I am doing some watercolors and exploring the same pose from different angles, it’s really fun to see how much mood can change.
I will probably start posting those next week.
Figure: Victoria 4 *free*
Character: Reby Sky
Morphs: Morphs++ NGM for V4
Wings, Helmet, Harness, Boots and Hair: Apteromata Flight
Textures: Acherontia Atropos Flight
Is obsessiveness a good trait in an artist?
I seem to have a hard time working on more than one painting at once. I can work on more than one of a different media, and will sometimes have watercolors on the go as well as an oil painting, but I can’t seem to paint more than one oil painting at a time. I get so obsessed with this one work that I have to see it through to the end. I play the same album on loop for the duration of most pieces (I feel sorry for the neighbors!). I can’t change to new brushes in the middle of a work and I lose it if something interrupts me while i’m working. I’m a very obsessive painter.
every time I try to put a piece aside to sit on while I work out what’s needed, or to dry, or to work on a deadline, I get stuck. Like something pulled between two equal forces I cannot move forward or back. And then I stop and feel lost and blocked.
My studio is being set up so that I can have a few easels running at once. I love this idea, I can see it so clearly. But I worry that my obsessive tendencies may prevent me from working as I should. I need to have multiple pieces happening. I need to be able to work on more paintings, to produce salable works while I paint the exhibition pieces. To just let things dry once in a while! I need to get past my obsessiveness and move on.
Flip – Daz Render
Flip – Daz Studio 4 Render
and.. because the last piece wasn’t complex enough I’ve thrown another spanner in the works. oh yes it’s raining fiddly bits here! I’ve been dreaming of the day I could get this harness and wingset, I’ve been planning works against them coming on sale. then they did and I pretty much had to spend a few weeks rendering my ideas. tell me if I’m crazy! I’m mildly worried about working with such a recognizable product in the 3D universe but you cannot deny the compelling delight of these wings!
if I’m not around much at the moment now you know why…
Figure: Victoria 4 *free*
Character: Reby Sky
Morphs: Morphs++ NGM for V4
Wings, Helmet, Harness, Boots and Hair: Apteromata Flight
Textures: Acherontia Atropos Flight
Suspension – Daz Render
Suspension – Daz Studio 4 Render
I’m going insane! a gear and lace – I don’t know what I’m thinking, but I’m so excited about this piece! it’s going to test my geometry skills to the limits but I think when it is done it will be a very interesting painting. I’m pretty psyched. I’ve been doing some other work this week, watercolors, some backlog things, and working on my geometry skills! this is requiring a bit of planning to get exactly right. but I have the canvas and I am getting all geared up.
hehe.
Figure: Victoria 4 *free*
Character: Reby Sky
Morphs: Morphs++ NGM for V4
Goggles: M4 Steam Cowboy
Hair: Scarlet Nights Hair
Boots and Cravat: Scandalous for V4
Gear: Steampunk Cogs and Gears 6 *free*
Bad things come in groups- farewell to some modern masters
This has been the year for losing iconic artists. These things come in threes, and I hope we have done our dash. M.F.Husain, Cy Twombly and now Lucien Freud. Two of these artists I have discussed on this blog, one at length. That doesn’t mean I don’t admire Twombly’s work, just that it didn’t fit into my niche. Edit: I started this post last week, since then we have also lost Margaret Olley. I guess the rule of threes leaves something to be desired.
These artists have taught us all about solidarity, about production and about being a truly great artist. Here is what I have learned from these greats:
1. Paint, paint and paint some more.
All three artists were extremely prolific. They did not get to the level of success they had without painting constantly and diligently.
2. Paint what you want to paint.
Each one received ridicule and derision at some point for their works, technique or subject matter. They rose above it. Nothing was more important than the art.
3. if you don’t like your situation, change it.
Move, change your allegiance, don’t wait for change to happen- be the catalyst for change.
4. Respect your peers.
Respect other artists, pose for them, inspire them as they inspire you and don’t fear giving back.
5. Know the rules- then break them.
Once you know the rules, you know what you should, and should not do. You know how to bend them and even how to break them. If you don’t know the rules, you risk breaking them in the wrong way. There’s so wrong it’s right and so wrong it’s wrong- the difference is knowing the rules.
These work for all careers, not just for artists. The art world is lesser for these losses.
National Classification Scheme Review – respond today!
Today I filed my responses for the review. I urge you to do likewise. this is the review that will determine if artists need to seek classification about their works. it’s the one that determines if we get censored internet and it’s the one that may allow us to get more games. the conservatives are responding in force, but we aren’t getting many responses from the arts and people who oppose censorship. please, show your support. you don’t have to answer every question, you don’t even have to type out giant paragraphs (like I did) just be heard. show your opinion and let the review board know that you oppose forcing artists to classify their works before exhibiting.
On 24 March 2011, Attorney-General Robert McClelland referred the National Classification Scheme to the ALRC and asked it to conduct widespread public consultation across the community and industry.
The review will consider issues including:
existing Commonwealth, State and Territory classification laws
the current classification categories contained in the Classification Act, Code and Guidelines
the rapid pace of technological change
the need to improve classification information available to the community
the effect of media on children and
the desirability of a strong content and distribution industry in Australia.
your response is due by 5pm tomorrow. please take 5 minutes to respond today.
Gears – 30×20 Oils on Canvas
Gears 30×20 Oils on Canvas
$1000
I’m not quite sure what I want to title this, it appears I will be doing more gears and cogs so Gears (the working title) may not be appropriate – other thoughts were Russet and Pedestal. what do you think?
I really am loving the Steampunk Burlesque series, I’m pushing everything to the hilt and improving with each piece, they are lots of fun and a huge challenge. I’m planning an exhibition of these pieces so stay tuned for further details!
Child pornography and art are different things, Hetty
One of the exonerated Nude Teen Pictures from 2008 by Bill Henson.
Picture by the Daily Telegraph
Bravehearts executive director Hetty Johnston has written to the Baillieu Government asking it to crack down on images such as those created by controversial artist Bill Henson.
But artists say they should not be censored and current guidelines for art are adequate.
A Senate committee has recommended classifications be applied to all media, including art in galleries.
It also called for a review of child pornography laws and for the “artistic merit” defence to be axed from child pornography offences.
Ms Johnston said her group did not oppose art or photographs showing children in real life, but set-up shots of naked children for “artistic purposes” should be outlawed.
“It crosses moral boundaries, and we believe it puts children at risk and it could exploit children,” she said.
Australia’s classification laws are under review and under attack once more.
Hetty Johnston and her band of fanatical cohorts are still not satisfied after Bill Henson’s confiscated works were reviewed by the clssifications board and deemed to be no more hazardous than PG. clearly it isn’t their views that are at fault, but the classifications board itself. when you don’t like the results- change the law. Clearly the problem with child pornography in Australia stems from artists. absolutely without a doubt.
I do believe, however, that the classifications rules do need to be reviewed and repaired. they are exceptionally ambiguous and are not helping us artists in our defences any more than they are helping Hetty. if anything they are already heavily on the Hetty side, but are so ambiguous that it comes down to the preferences and opinions of the board. characteristics such as breast size should not be a factor – breasts do not make a woman. they may as well choose testicle size as an indicator.
While a ban on the sexual depiction of minors will have strong community support, there’s a much greyer area involving adults or even animated characters who look young. Most adult movies (online or DVD) come from America and carry official government statements guaranteeing that all participants are over 18. These cut no ice in Australia. Furthermore, Hentai Manga (Japanese sexual comics) are so popular in Japan that they are freely available for browsing in 7-11 convenience stores and read openly on trains. But they are RC in Australia – potentially a rude shock for Japanese tourists visiting with such comics in their luggage.
Note too, that over the past year, the Classification Board has started using breast size as a criterion in defining child pornography: a less than precise indicator
[From ABC The Drum - Secrets of obscenity: the classification riddle]
I also believe that, more than the classifications system, the constitution of Australia needs to be reviewed, amended and honored. how many Australians even know there is a constitution here? who knows what’s in it? The US Constitution is one of the most powerful pieces of writing in the world. freedom of speech is one of the most honored of the freedoms and is celebrated. yes, occasionally it is abused, but it is such a sacred right that it cannot be denied. it seems to me that Australia needs some inalienable rights of it’s own.
artistic merit should not become a goto excuse for pornographers, that harms us more than it harms Hetty- but it must be allowed. we cannot create under a blanket of censorship and we cannot be the artists we need to be without freedom to create. art has the power to challenge our views, to make us think and and to change the world. I believe that the arts are one of the most powerful forces of humanity and should never be denied.
Recent Comments