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The Forum > Article Comments > Crucified on the cross of political correctness > Comments

Crucified on the cross of political correctness : Comments

By Ross Buncle, published 4/6/2008

Should we let the nanny state stomp on our right to assess controversial works, and undermine our cherished democratic values in the guise of protecting them?

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Curaezipirid,

I don't know whether you were referring to me, but if so, I'd respond that I have argued as rigorously as I am capable on all issues I raised. One of my main concerns was to avoid taking the easy reflexive arts-identikit view on anything! If there's an issue I brought up that you think is not supported by reasoning (whether you agree or disagree), identify it. As it stands at the moment, in my view your comment appears to lack substance.
Posted by Ross Buncle, Sunday, 8 June 2008 5:50:26 PM
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Hi Ross, just caught up with your article and blog post. It might be of interest to know that I am a mother (of boys and a girl, adolescents and just adult). My daughter (who is an 18 year old art student) tells me that if Bill Henson had ever wanted to photograph her, she would have been honoured. She is young enough to remember being 13, and his photographs speak deeply to her: she is a very vociferous defender of his work, and has been very upset by the accusations made against him.

And I would have no problems in permitting her, if the art was all of it, and I would be proud of the pictures. As another mother says elsewhere on the site, they are deeply moving photographs of a very transitory age, and to have such photographs of one's children would be something you would treasure. However, there is a caveat: if I thought she was going to be let in for the kind of public condemnation that has been driven by certain ideologues in this debate, I would advise her strongly against it. Not because I had any fears about Henson, but because of the prurient minds out there that would transform what she thought was her collaboration in making a beautiful piece of art into something horrifying and disgusting. If she were the model at the centre of the furore, I would be feeling that she had been violated and disempowered by those ugly accusations, and I would be very concerned for her.

(cont)
Posted by Alison Croggon, Monday, 9 June 2008 12:03:28 AM
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(cont) - And that consideration - a very recent, if rather major one - aside, I would be very angry if anyone forbade me or my daughter our free choices on this matter, since in no way is she being placed in danger. Other parents with other children would make different decisions, for their own reasons, as is their right; I am an artist, I understand and value what artists do, and I can make judgments for myself on the moral equity of other human beings. So far as I can work out, the issue of consent only applies to sexual acts; I have issued consent for all sorts of vital decisions all through my children's lives, such their health, their education, and whether they are old enough to cross roads on their own, and when I thought it necessary, have forbidden them their desires, as does every parent. And as they have earned more authority through self-responsibility, they have been given more autonomy. This is a delicate and always negotiable process, which cannot be pinned down by the crude processes of legislation. The less the state interferes in such things, unless there is a clear case of harm being done, the better.
Posted by Alison Croggon, Monday, 9 June 2008 12:04:22 AM
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Needless to say, Alison, I understand and agree with all points you make. It's a relief to encounter someone who sees the complexities of the issues involved and sorts through them cogently as you have, without putting the blinkers on to shut out inconvenient complicating considerations. No mean feat - and going by my reading, one that most folk who have entered the great debate have not managed to negotiate successfully.
Posted by Ross Buncle, Monday, 9 June 2008 2:51:52 AM
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Aslison, thanks for those excellent posts.

R0bert
Posted by R0bert, Monday, 9 June 2008 7:38:51 AM
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When images hurt and exploit people they sould be banned.
Posted by BR, Monday, 9 June 2008 1:35:47 PM
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