Australian magazine re-ignites debate with nude child on cover
06.07.2008 21:03
Arts
- Source: cbc.ca
An Australian art magazine has reignited the debate over the use of children in art by publishing a photo of a naked young girl on the front cover of its July issue. Art Monthly Australia's front cover features a nude girl — believed to be six years old, according to editor Maurice O'Riordan — sitting with her left leg bent and arms around the bent leg. The background is a painted seaside with cliffs. 'We need to be clever enough to distinguish art from other types of images'—Artist Polixeni Papapetrou, whose photo is used on the cover"Maybe this is bold, but I don't see the need to give in to that sort of hysteria or the prospect of complaint," O'Riordan told the Melbourne Herald Sun newspaper. The girl is believed to be the daughter of Melbourne artist Polixeni Papapetrou, who said she supported the use of her work on the magazine cover: "We need to be clever enough to distinguish art from other types of images." Inside the magazine, more photos of the child are featured posing with jewellery in addition to the nude child photos by Bill Henson which created such a furor and national debate in May. In early June, Australian police dropped their obscenity investigation of the photographer after complaints about his exhibit at the Roslyn Oxley9 gallery in Sydney. Many art critics and gallery officials came to Henson's defence, including actress Cate Blanchett. In the end, a government board certified Henson's photographs as non-pornographic. O'Riordan called the controversy a "farce" and says his magazine wants to make a statement about the valid use of nude children in art. New South Wales Minister for Community Services Kevin Green says the images are distasteful and inappropriate. "We've now reached a sad point where naked six-year-olds are being used to make some sort of artistic comment," he said. O'Riordan says he does not fear that public funding for his magazine, which amounts to about $50,000 annually, would be pulled. Story Tools: E-MAIL | PRINT | Text Size: SMLXL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACKRelatedInternal LinksIndecency investigation of artist Bill Henson droppedMore Media HeadlinesAustralian magazine re-ignites debate with nude child on coverAn Australian art magazine has reignited the debate over the use of children in art by publishing a photo of a naked young girl on the front cover of its July issue. Man rips head off wax Hitler figureA man tore the head off a controversial Adolf Hitler wax figure at Madame Tussaud's new wax museum in Berlin on its opening day.L.A. Times shedding 250 jobsThe Los Angeles Times will cut 250 jobs, including 150 in editorial departments, the paper's editor announced Wednesday.John Macfarlane steps in to help edit The WalrusJohn Macfarlane, who recently stepped down as editor of Toronto Life, will be helping out at The Walrus in the transition period following the recent resignation of editor Ken Alexander.Gander the star of U.K. 9/11 radio drama A radio play about the kindness of residents of Gander, N.L., who sheltered air passengers stranded by the Sept. 11 attacks has had its debut on British radio. More Arts HeadlinesSixth chord played in 639-year organ performanceThe world's longest concert, expected to finish in 2640, was one chord closer to the end as the sixth chord of John Cage's As Slow As Possible was played on a church organ in Germany, eight years after the performance began. Well-preserved 1,600-year-old tomb unearthed in PeruArcheologists in northern Peru say they've unearthed a rare, well-preserved pre-Incan tomb dating back 1,600 years. Bassist from Winnipeg given Oscar Peterson AwardWinnipeg-born bassist Dave Young has been handed the 2008 Oscar Peterson Award by the Festival International de Jazz de Montral. Canadian director fundraises by selling frames of future filmA Toronto filmmaker has come up with a novel way to raise money for his next project: he's selling each frame of his future film to potential investors through an internet site. Staff puzzled by National Gallery chief curator's sudden exitThere's been an upheaval at Canada's National Gallery in Ottawa with the abrupt departure of chief curator David Franklin. Arts FeaturesLost togetherBrick Lane: a melodramatic adaptation of the best-selling novelMommie dearestJulianne Moore plays doomed heiress Barbara Baekeland in Savage GraceWeird scienceDavid Cronenberg's opera version of The Fly transports Parisian audiencesSteppe to itGenghis Khan meets Canada's First Nations in the dance production TonoCanada Day Click through to our gallery of reader-submitted photographsHeavy liftingBox-office hero Will Smith can't elevate the mediocre HancockPeople who read this also read …
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