the Art Monthly Australia Cover by Polixeni Papapetrou The most repressive aspect of the guidelines is that they require retrospective documentation of compliance for images of nude or partly nude children taken over the last 18 years. This documentation will need to be reviewed by the Classification Board before such images can be exhibited. In…
Another of the Nude Teen Pictures under debate by Bill Henson. Picture by the Daily Telegraph The recent interview and book about Bill Henson and the controversy in May has brought to light how Henson goes about searching for his models and has, in turn, caused it’s own furor of media activity. It appears that…
One of the Controversial works by Bill Henson Photograph from the Age The Henson controversy has heated up again with the first interview and official statement given by the artist since the whole mess began back in May. …”If you believe you’ve done nothing wrong, that what you’ve done is right, you can draw a…
falling – 36 x 24 Oils on Canvas by Jennie Rosenbaum ARTWORK depicting sex, violence, nudity and drug use could be removed from Melbourne council-funded galleries under tough new regulations. Artists will face strict censorship on what can be displayed under a shake-up of Melbourne City Council’s art protocols.
…these regulations are the latest step in an attempt to try and enforce censorship and restrictions to one of the last bastions of freedom of expression.
here is a bried summary: 06/06 Bill Henson’s Nudes are officially not Porn 03/06 From the mouths of Babes – Bill Henson from the Children’s perspective 30/05 friday nude quotes 29/05 Just because it’s a Nude doesn’t mean it’s Porn 28/05 Community Support for Bill Henson’s Nudes 27/05 Sexualization of Minors in Art 26/05 Bill Henson’s Artworks are Innocent 01/05 Media Furor over Teen Nude I actually feel it’s a badly timed stunt that has probably hurt the cause rather than helped it…. Part of my reasoning in this regard has to do with the fact that Robert Nelson used to be very frank about his dislike of Henson’s works, to now turn around and defend them appears to me as if he has a different agenda…. I do think that Rudd should keep his mouth shut on topics he clearly doesn’t understand, and I certainly think he should apologize to a young girl who has done no harm other than to love being photographed and to stand up for her beliefs .
One of the Controversial works by Bill Henson Photograph from the Age A spokeswoman for Australia’s Classification Board, speaking on condition of anonymity under board policy, said six photos had been referred to them…. as this notion has now been rather spectacularly thrown out, I doubt there is a legal leg to stand on. The newspapers are already reporting it as a victory and that the cases will be shut down…. more than that, it has raised some ugly feelings towards art in general and nudes specifically, it has seen galleries taking works off their walls for fear of persecution and to people being afraid to express their opinions.
Another of the Nude Teen Pictures under debate by Bill Henson .A local paper, from Bill Henson’s old stomping ground Northcote, took a different tack in this case by interviewing local children and seeking their opinions on the controversy…. I remember those days all too clearly and I think that it’s important that no matter whether you agree with the works or not, whether you accept the models choices to pose, take a moment to appreciate the bravery it took and the strength they must need to stand tall in the face of this controversy…. And while the students had concerns about the impact of the work and the ability of young people to give consent, they also defended the right to freedom of expression in art. “I think you should look at art for being art and stop focusing on the negatives,” Mutinta said.
We must see to it that the man looking at the picture has at hand everything he needs to paint a nude. If you really give him everything he needs — and the best — he’ll put everything where it belongs, with his own eyes. Each person will make for himself the kind of nude he wants, with the nude that I will have made for him.
Picture by the Daily Telegraph 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…. there are some strange, strange people out there, but that I don’t think that these pieces are sexual in any way…. 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.
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…. 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”.
Jennie's Palette 