Censorship In Art
Something that I am very passionate about is addressing censorship in art. But before I talk about why I am so passionate about this issue, let’s first address a basic question.
What is censorship? Well according to Webster’s Dictionary, “Censorship is the suppression of words, images, or ideas that are "offensive or inappropriate.” This means that censoring, by nature, must be left up to a certain person or party that determines what is considered “offensive or inappropriate”. This is a very interesting idea, to allow one person or a few people decide what others should be seeing.
This is not to say that everything is appropriate for every situation. In an area for children there will be certain expectations that the images and material present will be what is commonly accepted as “kid friendly”. But if you are in a business, home, or anything else privately owned, then it is up to their discretion what they choose to show or advertise. When certain things, such as nudity, are deemed inappropriate no matter the context, it gives an aura of power and mystery to these things that is not necessary. Similar to when a child says a certain word and you tell them it is a “bad word”, this gives the word power in their eyes and almost ensures they will continue to use it.
There is no reason that nudity in art needs to be sexualized simply because of the lack of clothing. If a piece disturbs you, you should question why you find it disturbing, because occasionally you will find it may be because of a bias or judgement you may have about yourself or others.
My series of men in heels have been called offensive, inappropriate, immoral, and even satanic to my face. I don’t even know what has been said about them behind my back. When people say these things to me I always ask them why they are so bothered by them. The most common answer I get is a stare and then they will say, “Well they’re nude men in heels.” Which is just a statement of the obvious and does not answer my question. People judge the image and therefore me before they even think about the intent or meaning behind the work. This is something that happens to every artist that creates anything people find controversial.
The point of this little rant is simply to say think before you judge, the meaning may be something you agree with. Even if you still find it offensive it does not mean that you need to be hurtful or rude, you can always disagree respectfully.
Thank you for reading, and let me know if you would be interested on me writing about the meanings and inspiration behind some of my “offensive” works.
This is not to say that everything is appropriate for every situation. In an area for children there will be certain expectations that the images and material present will be what is commonly accepted as “kid friendly”. But if you are in a business, home, or anything else privately owned, then it is up to their discretion what they choose to show or advertise. When certain things, such as nudity, are deemed inappropriate no matter the context, it gives an aura of power and mystery to these things that is not necessary. Similar to when a child says a certain word and you tell them it is a “bad word”, this gives the word power in their eyes and almost ensures they will continue to use it.
My series of men in heels have been called offensive, inappropriate, immoral, and even satanic to my face. I don’t even know what has been said about them behind my back. When people say these things to me I always ask them why they are so bothered by them. The most common answer I get is a stare and then they will say, “Well they’re nude men in heels.” Which is just a statement of the obvious and does not answer my question. People judge the image and therefore me before they even think about the intent or meaning behind the work. This is something that happens to every artist that creates anything people find controversial.
The point of this little rant is simply to say think before you judge, the meaning may be something you agree with. Even if you still find it offensive it does not mean that you need to be hurtful or rude, you can always disagree respectfully.
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