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3:41 pm - 05/28/2008
All the signatories were part of Rudd's national summit on future directions held in Canberra last month, the paper said on its website.
"As members of the Creative Stream of the Australia 2020 Summit, we wish to express our dismay at the police raid on Bill Henson's recent Sydney exhibition, the allegations that he is a child pornographer, and the subsequent reports that he and others may be charged with obscenity," the letter reads.
"The potential prosecution of one of our most respected artists is no way to build a Creative Australia, and does untold damage to our cultural reputation."
The signatories, which include Museum of Contemporary Art director Elizabeth Ann Macgregor and academic and writer Professor Larissa Behrendt, said the public debate about art and ethics was welcome.
But they were clear in their support of Henson, whose work has been shown widely around Australia.
"The work itself is not pornographic, even though it includes depictions of naked human beings," the letter reads.
"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."
The controversy has caused galleries around the country to reassess their Henson works, with Newcastle City Council Tuesday pulling down a website that featured some of Henson's work on police advice.
Cate Blanchett defends "child pornographer"
SYDNEY (AFP) — Hollywood star Cate Blanchett Tuesday joined prominent arts figures in condemning moves to prosecute a renowned photographer on obscenity charges, saying it damaged Australia's cultural reputation.
Photographer Bill Henson has been at the centre of a debate about art and pornography after an exhibition of his work, which featured naked 12- and 13-year-old children, was shut down by police last week and 20 works seized.
Police have said they are likely to lay charges over the images which Prime Minister Kevin Rudd described as "absolutely revolting".
All the signatories were part of Rudd's national summit on future directions held in Canberra last month, the paper said on its website.
"As members of the Creative Stream of the Australia 2020 Summit, we wish to express our dismay at the police raid on Bill Henson's recent Sydney exhibition, the allegations that he is a child pornographer, and the subsequent reports that he and others may be charged with obscenity," the letter reads.
"The potential prosecution of one of our most respected artists is no way to build a Creative Australia, and does untold damage to our cultural reputation."
The signatories, which include Museum of Contemporary Art director Elizabeth Ann Macgregor and academic and writer Professor Larissa Behrendt, said the public debate about art and ethics was welcome.
But they were clear in their support of Henson, whose work has been shown widely around Australia.
"The work itself is not pornographic, even though it includes depictions of naked human beings," the letter reads.
"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."
The controversy has caused galleries around the country to reassess their Henson works, with Newcastle City Council Tuesday pulling down a website that featured some of Henson's work on police advice.
That notion is lost on most people. Nudity doesn't necessarily serve to titillate.
I definitely don't agree with that route but I can understand emotionally how the fear of the pedophiles can make folks overreact in the wrong direction.
Unfortunately the more people get involved it becomes more extreme, because they reinforce each other's fears. It's very sad how things can go off the rails so badly because there's a very real evil that people are running like hell from.
I mean people that get off to [on?] that will also, like someone above said, get off to diaper ads or baby magazines, etc. This is just like banning GTA and torture movies, etc., because they 'influence' kids to go kill their peers. Or skinny models because they 'make' kids puke their food up.
Anything and everything can trigger something in someone. As long as the childrens parents consented [and the children didn't object to it] and it wasn't sexual [in the sense of poses, etc] then I don't see the issue.
It's how we're brought up now -- to think that nudity means sex and sex is bad so nudity is bad.
Some of the most beautiful pictures I've ever seen have been figure photographs.
sometimes, I forget the people are naked.
They should see Joel Peter-Witkin's work, now that is amazing but people would shit a brick
A lot of Nan Goldin's photographs are amazing. She's wonderful at capturing grittiest and passionate moments.
The saddest thing is I can't even watch baby nappy adds because I think of all the dirty pedos that are getting off on that shit!
i was actually really shocked here in japan when showed fully naked babies and breastfeeding on tv in the middle of the day. something like that would neverrrr be allowed in england. although having said that, there is still a lot of perversion here despite the more relaxed attitude towards nudity :/
People are pretty sick!
Is it true that in Japan you can buy school girl underwear in vending machines (or is that a sick rumour).
Edited at 2008-05-28 06:15 am (UTC)
dunno lol.
By the time they're 12 to 13, they look recognizable, and they have started to develop sexually. Maybe it's unhip of me to say, but I don't think he should be doing that, even if he's not photographing them in a really sexual way.
I think that's kind of the point. Art is art, yes. I'm not offended by what I see, I'm just worried about the 13 year old when she's 20 and thinking to herself "why did I let a guy take nude pictures of me and put them up in a gallery for everyone to see?"
try CONTROL +
on a mac?
try COMMAND +
if you want text to show up bigger...
duh.