Today's topic, Bill Henson: http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/the-controversial-career-of-bill-henson/2008/05/24/1211183189567.html
In summary, an Australian photographer whose exhibitions have brought controversy. Talented, yet, probably likes to walk on the line, a thin fine line. This time, the line between art and child pornography. Child pornography, a very very sensitive issue.
My opinion, any individual/organization engaging with child pornography should just burn forever in hell. If in reality there is no such thing as hell, I would gladly spend the rest of my life to create one for them to burn in. Literally.
Yes, child pornography is the worst. I cannot imagine how sick the person's mind must be in order to engage in something like that. So, for such a sick mind to be connected to any system (such as a human body) is wrong. If there is the one absolute thing in the world that I ever believe in, this is probably it. Pedophiles should die, their souls should never be allowed on earth and should eternally suffer agony, their bodies should be whipped repeatedly, then cut up into pieces and burn. It is not even fit to be fed to any animals.
Now, the controversy is really about the photographs by Bill Henson. Pornography or not? I first saw the photos on the web (check it out on Google). I have to seriously say, it is very beautiful. The use of lights, the dark space surrounding the subject created a very very compelling photograph that forces viewers to look and feel what the subjects are feeling. Powerful photographs. In my sense, this is art more than anything else.
However, any public display of photographs or realistic depictions of a naked child is against my morals. Now I do appreciate art in different forms (no, creating a pillar by sticking it full with bacons is NOT art, NOR is leashing a dog for days and hanging tons and tons of ham right in front of it is), even those that depicts violence; pushing boundaries between morality and art. Because this constantly forces people to rethink and relook into their own moral values by means of provcating. Viewers should really, see with discretion. If you don't like it, take it with a pinch of salt and walk away. Then this is not art to you, go see Monet.
In this sense, I would probably just walk away from Henson's exhibition.
It is art, but not something which is provocative to me. However, by my own moral values, any depictions of child being sexualized (that includes fully-clothed children giving sexy pose), nude children (even if is purely art that does not suggest a single hint of sex) should not be created. Much less to display it in public. Not that I do not see his point, but simply because the subject is a child that I do not feel is acceptable.
Truth is, there is a fine line that artists pushes constantly between art and sex. More often than not, sex or pornography has even been taken as art. Of course, vice versa. The really disturbing fact is not that the photos could possibly be depicted as pornography by people, but the fact that nake subject is a child that really, I do not feel its acceptable. Why? Of all, should you be using nude children? There are, really a lot of other subjects or ways that you could possibly bring across the point. So why nude children?
Think about it, photographs of you nude when you were born, being exhibited, will probably never cause any of such controversies. Why? Simply because they are not even being viewed as anywhere being closed to a full human beings. This is the same as, putting nude photographs of puppies, kittens etc. etc. Human brains (except the really sick ones) just do not see it being any different (across culture). So if ever, there are people who find that posting of Henson's photographs as suggestion of child pornography, is it not best that he does not do this anymore, even if it is purely a form of art?
Bear in mind that I still, do find his photographs taken very beautifully and does not bear any resemblances of pornography in any sense. So against all my liking towards the photographs, I still do not approve such exhibitions to be held nor photographs to be taken in first place.
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