The Censorship of Art

by Serena Wong

I for one, despise censorship. Since when did being politically correct gag us, make us mute puppets with nothing to say?

Our conservative society has made us afraid of speaking out, taking risks and anything that could potentially offend anyone.

The catch is, you can’t make everyone happy, ever. So that probably explains why the police were called to the Art Gallery of New South Wales to investigate a ‘pornographic’ painting by Brisbane artist, Andrew Frost. The painting depicts a naked woman performing a sex act and the outrage is over exposing children to pornography. While it’s hardly surprising that some people got worked into a fluster, it’s still annoying.

But as Mr. Frost said it’s not the gallery’s place to censor art. If parents don’t want their children to see these images, then that’s their responsibility.

Some might remember the film ‘Mysterious Skin’ when the Australian Family Association tried to ban the movie because of it’s depiction of sexual abuse. They felt that the ‘R’ rating wasn’t enough, because the movie could be used as an ‘instruction manual’ for child abusers.

What annoys me the most about the conservative right wing people of this country is that they claim to know what’s best for everyone. It’s that famous catch cry “but what about the children”. Well isn’t that why children have parents to educate them, teach them and explain to them things that might be a bit controversial.

I don’t give a fig about what the Australian Family Association thinks; I want the opportunity to make up my own mind. I want to see art, watch films and read books that challenge and evoke new ways of thinking.

After all, those people that called the police about Mr. Frosts work didn’t really stop and think. There is a message behind this ‘pornography’, and it’s about hope. Mr. Frost said that the painting was about the similarities between pornography and hope, how they are both are ‘unsatisfying’ and ‘unrewarding’ and that neither of them are real.

So what Mr. Frost is really guilty of is destroying hope, not pornography. Food for thought isn’t it?