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You are here: Home > Forum > A Place of Safety > General Talk > When is it art, when is it pornography
When is it art, when is it pornography  [message #45462] Thu, 27 September 2007 21:27 Go to previous message
timmy

Has no life at all
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13828



I know we are concerned here to ensure that children are not victimised, abused, or exploited. We've just has a discussion with some heat over one interpretation of the question asked.

Today a photo by a well known artist, exhibited without problems globally, is in the hands of the UK Police who are deciding, presumably, if there is a case to answer.

On http://tinyurl.com/34xxo2 Elton John, the owner of the picture says:

"The photograph entitled "Klara and Edda belly-dancing" (1998) is one of 149 images comprising the "Thanksgiving" installation by renowned US photographer Nan Goldin.

The photograph exists as part of the installation as a whole and has been widely published and exhibited throughout the world. It can be found in the monograph of Ms Goldin's works entitled "The Devil's Playground" (Phaidon, 2003), has been offered for sale at Sotheby's New York in 2002 and 2004, and has previously been exhibited in Houston, London, Madrid, New York, Portugal, Warsaw and Zurich without any objections of which we are aware."

This has made national, perhaps global news.

I have not seen the picture, but it is variously described as "potentially pornographic" and "innocent" by people interviewed on the BBC news.

The art gallery called the police when they were asked to exhibit the work.

But there are many nude pictures of children and many statues of nude children. The Manekin Pis in Brussels is a supreme example of genitals being used for urination in a public display.

Where does art stop and porn start?



Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
 
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