By: buzzanddidj
8/07/2008
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It's a triumph of the philistines
John McDonald
May 24, 2008
BILL HENSON must bitterly regret his decision to use a photograph of a pubescent, bare-breasted girl on the invitation card for his exhibition at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery. Little more than three years after breaking all records for a photography exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW and the National Gallery of Victoria; 13 years after being the official Australian representative at the Venice Biennale, he stands on the brink of prosecution for the work that has brought him worldwide fame.
To the rest of the world Henson is not simply one of Australia's best-known artists - he is the undisputed Numero Uno. No other contemporary Australian artist in any medium enjoys such an exalted reputation or has a more devoted market for his work. And Henson is - first and foremost - an artist rather than a photographer. His pictures are dark and edgy, but it would be foolish to write them off as "pornography".
Pornography, as I understand it, is a form that revels in its own sordidness. It is a commercial product made for the sole purpose of titillation. Yet even Henson's detractors must admit that his photographs are ineffably beautiful. They portray the human figure as fragile and mysterious - in the same way that he transforms the twilight world of the suburbs. His subjects are no longer children, but not yet adults. They are caught between night and day, between freedom and responsibility. Why are they naked? Well, Truth is naked.
More....
http://www.smh.com.au/news/arts/its-a-triumph-of-t he-philistines/2008/05/23/1211183097200.html
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By: buzzanddidj
8/07/2008
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Every individual will have different ideas about where to draw the line that separates art from pornography. Every person will have different ideas about the limits of art. The tragedy of this case is that it is a moral panic generated and fed by a mass media that have recently thrilled audiences with the serious case of Milton Orkopoulos and the utterly frivolous one of Miley Cyrus. The politicians have been dragged into the fray but I suspect there is not a single one of them who will stand up for Bill Henson. When the mob bays for blood the emperors point their thumbs to the ground.
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By: nw8hillbilly
8/07/2008
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I have a 6 year old daughter & I would never take photos of her naked, at the beach, anywhere, even for "family" photos, not even in the name of "art". Why would I? That's just fockin weird.
its not weird....what is weird is this sudden trend of condemnation...it wasn't an issue last year, the year before....ever in our history...now all of a sudden its sexualisation...its exploitation...its arousing to paedophiles.
Why?
How many family albums show the toddlers at the beach or in the wading pool without their shirt or in their undies...why are so many people bent out of shape about it?
We dont complain about nude beaches which by the same logic could be arousing rapists... why this sudden fixation? |
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By: nessa_sarily_so
8/07/2008
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"Pornography, as I understand it, is a form that revels in its own sordidness. It is a commercial product made for the sole purpose of titillation."
Like the "My Humps" video |
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By: nessa_sarily_so
8/07/2008
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| That description would also adequately fit the Benny Hill show. |
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By: duurrrhhhhhh
8/07/2008
4:09 pm |
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By: hallacba
8/07/2008
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| its all Ferguson's fault |
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By: ziggy.stardust51
8/07/2008
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| you'll never get out Doreen |
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By: greatgranswisdom
8/07/2008
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<<<the clown standing next to her oh opps that was her father he looks like a paedophile himself>>>
Now that's informative.....
I always wondered what paedophiles looked like.
Probably the bow tie......that's a dead giveaway.
..............
Seriously though....
Wasn't it SMH opinion writer Miranda Devine, who brought up the Henson issue ....no publicity ......no issue.
Who brought up this obscure magazine that never saw light of day, outside a certain clique in the art world?
Again .....no publicity .....no issue.
Statisticians tell us that 1 in 4 girls, and 1 in 7 boys, were sexually abused as children....and overwhelmingly by family, relatives and those well known to the family.
This surely is the real issue to deal with.....and it has nothing to do with Henson or Papapetrou.
But we will sensationalise this "art" controversy......as the REAL issue is far too well established in the too hard basket.
This is the issue Hetty should be addressing.
Is anyone suggesting that what I have referred to as the REAL issue, is in any way influenced by the Henson and Papapetrou photos?
i.e., would the photo on page 17 in today's Telegraph, influence a father to sexually abuse his daughter .....this abuse in my estimation, being the ultimate betrayal of trust, and the most heinous of all crimes of this nature? .....my opinion.....not one iota. |
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By: buzzanddidj
8/07/2008
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<<<the clown standing next to her oh opps that was her father he looks like a paedophile himself>>>
I thoght he looked more like weather-man, Brian Bury
Maybe he is a paedophile TOO ?
Let's have a serious 'witch-hunt'
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By: camurra
8/07/2008
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| I don't have anything against nude children in photos, but what I am strongly against is the publication of these photos in the public arena. What responsible parent would want a pedophile looking at photos of their nude children. They don't deserve to have children if they allow this to happen. Display them at home if you must but keep them out of the media! In the name of art? Plleease!! |
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By: buzzanddidj
8/07/2008
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'I don't have anything against nude children in photos, but what I am strongly against is the publication of these photos in the public arena.'
The Polixeni Papapetrou photos have been shown in exhibitions all over the world in the last 5 years
The Henson photos, even longer
They only entered the main-stream domain when media-tart, Hetty Johnston, put them out there
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By: nw8hillbilly
8/07/2008
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What responsible parent would want a pedophile looking at photos of their nude children.
what responsible parent would dress their children in nice clothes and take them to a public place where a paedophile could see them?
flee, to the hills, the paedophiles are loose |
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By: onethousandfold
8/07/2008
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Let's have a serious 'witch-hunt'***
whats that supposed to mean buzz - you obviously don't take this seriously |
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By: amazonia61
8/07/2008
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"what responsible parent would dress their children in nice clothes and take them to a public place where a paedophile could see them?"
Be real. It's not the same thing.
Children go about in public clothed all the time.
Would you stand your 6 year old or 11 year old or 12 year old daughter completely naked on a pedestal in a public place?
Would you stand your 16 year old daughter completely naked on a pedestal in a public place.
This is the real world. In the real world, responsible parents take reasonable action to prevent harm coming to their children.
It is reasonable to NOT have your naked child displayed in public. |
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By: amazonia61
8/07/2008
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A father posted on another site the other day... very upset. He had posted a photo of his little son on his blog. Some time later, he found the photo of his son on the page of some weird bloke. He was asking "what can I do about this person stealing my son's image and putting it on the internet".
The reality is, if you don't want people misusing images of your children, you don't post them in the public domain.
That is the reality. This is the real world.
Conversely, if you are happy to have your child pose naked for photography in the name of "art", then you must have no qualms about your child's image being misused by the unsavoury elements of society.
So buzz, hillbilly... do you have kids? You don't mind the fact that people in society WILL masterbate over photos of your kids? You're ok with that?
We don't let our kids out on the streets alone. We don't let them cross the street alone and we don't display naked photos of them.
Keep the happy snaps within the domain of family and friends. Don't put them in the domain of strangers. |
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By: amazonia61
8/07/2008
5:56 pm |
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By: amazonia61
8/07/2008
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As for the argument that paedos masturbate over the photos of clothed children as well.......
Guys, let me ask you.........
Do you get your rocks off more easily over a photo of a woman modestly dressed or one of her laying naked on a rock?
The cover photo of the 6 year old is not the only photo in that magazine. There are other photos of her laying naked, in repose, in a draped sort of position.
So, we're all in favour of making it easy for guys to get their rocks off, yeah?
Good on yas. |
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By: waterbank
8/07/2008
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Australia is ruled by the fear of paedophiles.
How sad..... |
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By: amazonia61
8/07/2008
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what a croc
It's not about fear.
It's about reasonable behaviour.
It's about common sense. |
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By: scrappa28
8/07/2008
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| not ruled by fear of paedophiles just fear of what happen if we cut their pe//nises and balls off and stick it down their throat and choke them with them.Are they worth spending life in prison for? especially when they are protected by judges,priests,police and lawyers? |
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By: amazonia61
8/07/2008
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"nudes have been used in art for centuries"
Yeah, but NEVER before in the pages of history have images been able to be reproduced and transmitted with such ease.
In times past, the image would have been painted, not photographed and the number of people in possession of the image would have been very low.
I hardly think all the pedos flocked to Le Louvre to masturbate publicly over Botocelli cherubs.
We live in modern times with modern technology and modern problems. It's time the laws caught up. |
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By: buzzanddidj
8/07/2008
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'Let's have a serious 'witch-hunt'***
whats that supposed to mean buzz - you obviously don't take this seriously'
By onethousandfold
I take ALL media created public hysteria seriously
The Polixeni Papapetrou photos have been shown in exhibitions all over the world in the last 5 years
The Henson photos, even longer
Neither with incident
They only entered the main-stream domain when media-tart, Hetty Johnston, put them out there
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By: amazonia61
8/07/2008
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"Are they worth spending life in prison for? especially when they are protected by judges,priests,police and lawyers?"
Maybe there's just a lot of people out there who harbour secret fantasies of rooting children, huh? |
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By: scrappa28
8/07/2008
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| I can't believe that the parents of this little girl is so bereft of morals. |
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