The Role of Censorship in Public Art

Re: "I do not require the OK from any group to make any work of art. None of us do."

Well actually if you want your public works to stick it is highly recommended. I wish it was possible to hold such a romantic notion of the artist while working in the public realm -- but really it rarely sticks -- and admittedly, lots of great projects have had their corners sanded off, so to speak. Negotiation and mutual education is part of this process with the communities that you may affect -- and if done properly the result does not have to be a compromised creation.

Re: "Shouldn't I get to decide (rather than you, or anyone else) what my own cultural influences are?"

No I am afraid not. This is really heavily treaded ground: Hip-hop changing from its roots from functioning as the 'Black CNN' to now being tailored to the crass desires of suburban white males -- to Inuit soapstone sculptures made in China... In effect you can trivialize the cultural voice of others by appropriation.

I really recommend you read 'Orientalism' by Said. http://www.amazon.ca/Orientalism-Edward-W-Said/dp/039474067X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/701-4446518-6486741?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191866309&sr=8-1

Re: "Why do the Hindus that like my work, not counted as much as the Hindus that don't like it?"

Good question -- that is more along the lines of what I am asking you to substantiate.

Re: "Why do people who haven't thought deeply about these issues, haven't seen the work, etc... feel like they should pronounce their verdict on my guilt or innocence. I suppose, these days, everyone wants to be a pundit..."

Do you mean me specifically? Stop whining. I am sure you are going to come out better for this in the end.

What makes my position defensible is a little thing called "freedom of expression". I do not require the OK from any group to make any work of art. None of us do.

Your "guessing" as to "our" shared "heritage" are astonishingly ethnocentric. Why are the Greeks my heritage, but the Indians, not? Shouldn't I get to decide (rather than you, or anyone else) what my own cultural influences are?

My work was censored, that much is undeniable. But, was my work so obviously offensive, or is this just an example of prudish repression? Why do the Hindus that like my work, not counted as much as the Hindus that don't like it?

Why do people who haven't thought deeply about these issues, haven't seen the work, etc... feel like they should pronounce their verdict on my guilt or innocence.

I suppose, these days, everyone wants to be a pundit...

--> My previous post was in response to Ryan's Jesus comment.

In my opinion, what would make your position defensible is if you could prove that the work happened with consultation, some oversight and perhaps even direct artistic co-production with members of the Hindu community.

If you want to get trickier about this then perhaps this process would not be warranted if you were using Jesus in the same way -- as he belongs to the dominant form of our society and (I am guessing) your own heritage.

Not really Ryan. It is more a matter of who has the right to articulate the sacred and for what purposes.

Although I can empathize with what happened -- methinks it could have been avoided with more groundwork and research on the history of cultural appropriation -- especially when working in a really sensitive area. Then again -- maybe not -- I am sure there are conservative Hindu bigots just as any other religion...

Check out this book out -- If I remember correctly I think it covers removal well. http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?tid=10186&ttype=2

So, now, Weiss has changed his story... now, I only "appear to him" to be manipulating symbols I "don't know from a lifetime of experience"... where did he come up with this new conclusion, you ask? Well, he just pulled it out of his ass, the same place he got the first one!

Maybe he could be more specific, and point out exactly what symbols (from his helpful illustration) I'm specifically lacking in "lifetime experience" with. Maybe he can also explain why a "lifetime of experience" is necessary in the manipulating of symbols in artwork, anyway...

Or, he can just continue with his shameful, unfounded bullshit assertions, I suppose. In that case, I will continue to ridicule this analysis from the comments section...

So, now, Weiss has changed his story... now, I only "appear to him" to be manipulating symbols I "don't know from a lifetime of experience"... where did he come up with this new conclusion, you ask? Well, he just pulled it out of his ass, the same place he got the first one!

Maybe he could be more specific, and point out exactly what symbols (from his helpful illustration) I'm specifically lacking in "lifetime experience" with.

Or, he can just continue with his unfounded bullshit assertions, I suppose. In that case, I will continue to ridicule from the comments section...

Complaining about a "decapitated" Ganesha, by the way, is like complaining about Jesus being depicted, oh, I don't know, nailed to a cross, or something offensive like that... It's part of the damned story, for fuck's sake!

Artists have borrowed from other cultures, and contemporary artists, especially. Mr. McCourt's work, which I have not seen, should not be censored because of its content. If people don't like it, don't look at it.

There is entirely too much of this kind of "censorship" rhetoric going on in this country, today, and it seems to be the trickle down effect of the kind of authoritarianism we see at the highest levels of our government. The patronizing: "we know what is best for you" attitude.

Well, at least I'm please to hear that "McCourt is not censorship", whatever that means...

"Despite McCourt's claims of innocence and support by many Hindus, he is manipulating symbols that he does not know with his soul."

Excuse me? Did the author just claim the right to speak on what I "know with my soul"? WOW! And people say my work is insulting! I didn't even know I had a soul, much less that it had knowledge (or, lacked knowledge, I suppose I should say).

Here I am, like an idiot, using my BRAIN to acquire and store knowledge, when all this time I could have been using my SOUL... blast it all, now where did I leave that thing?... it was around here just a second ago... it must have been, since Weiss has been busy weighing and adjudicating its contents...