TRAVEL DIARY

A weblog regularly updated by Jodi Rose.

Monday, July 14, 2008

10:25 PM
Posted by jodi rose

troublesome news from the australian art front - a reminder not to take your freedom for granted:

the rise of the art police

"Artists are involved in creating stuff that pricks bubbles, and creating objects of beauty and delight that enhance the ways we see ourselves as a society. There's a mismatch between what happens in the artistic domain and the political-media domain, however."

Because of the nature of their work, artists are often easy targets for critics, evangelists, advocates and politicians.... But what effects will these events have on local artists? Will artists become more cautious - indeed, fearful - of creating work that may offend? And ultimately, what impact will this have on a community's search for greater understanding of itself?

"Every society needs to be extremely alert to the potential that may start in a benign way but can develop into full-scale repression of opinion," she says. "So although this episode may sound like a one-off case, or some people may see it as peripheral to the main game, it can be the beginnings of a climate of intolerance that affects everyone."

Winikoff is also concerned that politicians, activists and media commentators in recent weeks - particularly those in the tabloid press - have overlooked artists' awareness of society's morals, and their intelligent understanding of the social and cultural Zeitgeist.

"... the process of art is not just about making pretty pictures, but about a very profound examination of ethical principals and meaning," she says.

"Artists and those people who publish commentary on art are engaged in a very serious enterprise, some of which can include testing the boundaries of ideas and opinion. But that's why we have to look at art as being in a different zone from just aesthetics per se or entertainment. That's why art claims a special zone of consideration."

"I think it's very serious for the arts," Winikoff says. "It's when you start being worried about repression, and when opinion and intellectual debate is being quarantined or closed down. The consequences are very serious, not just for art but for intellectual and social development."

Corrie Perkin | July 12, 2008 | The Australian


..and there I was thinking it might be safe to go home again. Maybe it's time to start that bridge punk thrash metal band...