Post-Modern Art and Obscenity

2619 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The place of art in religion

I am an artist. That is not a disclaimer or a boast; it is a statement of position. I believe in the undeniable importance of art and the futility of censorship. I also believe that art is one of the best indicators of the mood of a culture. Scholars, doctors, therapists, and lawyers can attempt to explain us to ourselves, but their testimony, while useful, will almost always be dry and lacking in emotional depth. I am proud to write in defense of a group that predates and outlasts all other professional analysts of the human condition-creators of art. Chris Ofili is one member of this oft-abused group. His 1996 work,The Holy Virgin Mary, depicts the classic Christian icon with a nonrealistic black face above swirling, sequined green and blue patterns and one exposed breast composed of dried elephant dung. Cutouts of photographs of women's buttocks and genitals dot the background of the canvas. The disturbing elements of this piece are all based in ambivalence-the audience is not sure how to react. To begin with, the multiplicity of media, some of them quite unusual-sequins, oil, collage, and elephant dung-makes the piece a bit different from "traditional" visual works and thwarts our desire to categorize. Is it painting, sculpture, collage, garbage, or something else entirely? The title brings into play the most powerful set of cultural prejudices in the world, organized religion. Does Ofili honor the Virgin or defile her? The caricaturized African wide mouth and nose on a figure typically drawn as Caucasian offer a potential racial slur to blacks (the "Negro" caricature) or whites (the assumption that Mary was white). Finally, the juxtaposition of a mainstream religious icon and a serious art-museum context with two very marg... ... middle of paper ... .... "Post-Modern Art and the Death of Obscenity Law." Yale Law Journal. April 1990: 1359-1378. Reprinted at lexis.com. 11 Dec. 2000 . 1-20. Gershon, United States District Judge. 99 CV 6071. The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences vs. Rudolph W. Giuliani. United States District Court, Eastern District Of New York. 28 Feb. 2001 . Mercer, Kobena. Welcome to the Jungle: New Positions in Black Cultural Studies. New York: Routledge, 1994. 171-220. Nead, Lynda. "Bodies of Judgment: Art, Obscenity and the Connoisseur." Law and the Image. Ed. Costas Douzinas and Lynda Nead. Chicago UP, 1999. 203-225. Stychin, Carl. "Promoting a Sexuality: Law and Lesbian and Gay Visual Culture in America." Law and the Senses. Ed. Lionel Bently and Leo Flynn. London: Pluto , 1996. 65-79.

Show More
Related

  • Free Essay: Metamorphosis of Dimmesdale in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    1307 Words  | 3 Pages

    In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there are many characters that transform; one of them is Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale committed a great sin of the puritan society, he slept with another mans wife and Hester Prynne became pregnant. Hester was punished for her sin but Arthur Dimmesdale had not admitted to it, so he lives with this guilt and it is much worst for him because he is a puritan minister. Dimmesdale inflicts punishment upon himself because of his adulterated sin. Dimmesdale transforms throughout the novel always in the same place "The Scaffold."

    Read More

  • The Cowardly Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    1018 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the book The Scarlet Letter, the character Reverend Dimmesdale, a very religious man, committed adultery, which was a sin in the Puritan community. Of course, this sin could not be committed alone. His partner was Hester Prynne. Hester was caught with the sinning only because she had a child named Pearl. Dimmesdale was broken down by Roger Chillinsworth, Hester Prynne’s real husband, and by his own self-guilt. Dimmesdale would later confess his sin and die on the scaffold. Dimmesdale was well known by the community and was looked up to by many religious people. But underneath his religious mask he is actually the worst sinner of them all. His sin was one of the greatest sins in a Puritan community. The sin would eat him alive from the inside out causing him to become weaker and weaker, until he could not stand it anymore. In a last show of strength he announces his sin to the world, but dies soon afterwards. In the beginning Dimmesdale is a weak, reserved man. Because of his sin his health regresses more and more as the book goes on, yet he tries to hide his sin beneath a religious mask. By the end of the book he comes forth and tells the truth, but because he had hidden the sin for so long he is unable to survive. Dimmesdale also adds suspense to the novel to keep the reader more interested in what Reverend Dimmesdale is hiding and his hidden secrets. Therefore Dimmesdale’s sin is the key focus of the book to keep the reader interested. Dimmesdale tries to cover up his sin by preaching to the town and becoming more committed to his preachings, but this only makes him feel guiltier. In the beginning of the story, Dimmesdale is described by these words; “His eloquence and religious fervor had already given earnest of high eminence in his profession.”(Hawthorne,44). This proves that the people of the town looked up to him because he acted very religious and he was the last person that anyone expected to sin. This is the reason that it was so hard for him to come out and tell the people the truth. Dimmesdale often tried to tell the people in a roundabout way when he said “…though he (Dimmesdale) were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life.

    Read More

  • Miller vs. California

    480 Words  | 1 Pages

    In 1973, Marvin Miller, operator of one of the West Coast's largest mail-order businesses dealing in sexually explicit material, had conducted a mass mailing campaign to advertise the sale of illustrated books, which was known as “adult material”. He was found guilty based on the fact that he violated California’s pena...

    Read More

  • Transformation of Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Life is hard, but accepting that fact makes it easier." This common phrase clearly states a harsh fact that Rev. Dimmesdale, a character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, had to face. In this story of deception and adultery set in the Puritan era, Hawthorne introduces Dimmesdale as a weak and cowardly man who refuses to take responsibility for his actions.  The Rev. Dimmesdale is a transitional character in that he is, at the beginning of the novel, outwardly good but inwardly deceitful and by the end of the novel he becomes both outwardly and inwardly truthful.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of A First Amendment Junkie By Susan Jacoby

    247 Words  | 1 Pages

    Susan Jacoby, in her essay entitled “A First Amendment Junkie,” attacks those who believe that the first amendment should not be cause for the continuation of public obscenity. Jacoby, adamant defender of the first amendment, questions those who wish for the freedom of expression to be denied in the case of pornography, yet seem complacent about the racism and sexism that comes from freedom of speech as well. Additionally, Jacoby argues that it is too difficult to distinguish pornography from beauty and art from obscenity. One person may see David as a wonder to behold, and yet another may look at it as degrading towards men. Jacoby believes that rather than censorship-supporters controlling what their family watches, they want the government

    Read More

  • Restricting the Production, Distribution, and Sale of Pornography in Canada

    2975 Words  | 6 Pages

    27 Baird, Robert M. and Stuart E Rosenbaum.  Pornography - Private Right or Public Menace  Pg. 52

    Read More

  • Dimmesdale a Sinner or Not?

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter, the novelist suggests how Dimmesdale, a priest who is obligated to the church, has commited adultery, but keeps it a secret to keep the political and societal structure of the Puritan community. Throughout the first half of the novel Dimmesdale is portrayed as a small insignificant character that seems to have a strange liking for Hester Prynne in which the reader does not pinpoint why, until he and Hester meet in the forest. Dimmesdale struggles throughout the novel dealing with his private and public life. Hawthorne defines that characters in the novel are made of how they deal with their own adverse situations.

    Read More

  • The Negative Effect of Golf

    1275 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...cy." Western Journal Of Black Studies 28.1 (2004): 327-331. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.

    Read More

  • Let’s Put Pornography Back in the Closet

    601 Words  | 2 Pages

    In her essay “Let’s Put Pornography Back in the Closet,” Susan Brownmiller, a prominent feminist activist, argues that pornography should not be protected under the First Amendment (59). Her position is based on the belief that pornography is degrading and abusive towards women (Brownmiller 59). She introduces the reader to the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, and explains how it relates to her beliefs on censoring pornographic material (Brownmiller 58). In addition, she provides examples of First Amendment controversies such as Miller v. California and James Joyce’s Ulysses to explain how the law created a system to define pornographic material (Brownmiller 58). She described the system that used a three-part test as confusing (Brownmiller 58). Regardless of whether or not the First Amendment was intended to protect obscenities, she and many others believe that the legislatures should have the final say in the decision of creating and publishing pornography (Brownmiller 60).

    Read More

  • Should Universities Pay Their Hardworking Athletes?

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    For years college athletes have been working their whole life to play in College. Day in and day out, working their hardest, pouring their heart and soul into their sport. Over decades athletes have been able to showcase their talent to get to College. When a college school recruits you, your job is to bring in money for the University. A real athlete plays the game for their desire and passion for the sport. Recently, athletes have been questioning whether or not they should be paid for their hard work and dedication to the sport. In this essay, I will explain the effects of paying athletes.

    Read More

  • Lord Of The Flies Character Analysis

    1342 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ralph always wanted to do the right thing for the boys as a group and for himself as well: “‘The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don’t keep a fire going? Is a fire too much for us to make?’” (Golding 80). The boys that were watching the fire let it burn out, so when a ship passed by the island they did not have any black smoke to signal the ship that there were people on the island. Ralph was extremely frustrated with everyone because many of the boys did not care that the fire went out. Ralph realizes that fire is one of the most important things since that is the thing that is supposed to get them rescued off of the island. The boys, besides Ralph, are showing their evil by not caring that this happened to them instead they just brush it off like it is no big deal but in reality it is a huge deal for their survival. The way that Ralph was brought up in his society shows that he can control his evil reactions in tense situations since he does not want to lash out at somebody. Even though Ralph is from a controlled society, he was very eager to join the society that was taking place which leads to the killing of Simon: “The beast was on its knees in the center,...leapt on to the beast, screamed struck, bit, tore...they could see

    Read More

  • High Fidelity Simulations in Nursing Education

    1373 Words  | 3 Pages

    For years nurses have gained experience in the medical field through clinical rounds at hospitals and doctors offices. Learning has always taken place first through textbooks and then through personal experience during required clinical time. These methods have proven effective but include limitations to the amount of exposure a student can gain before entering the workforce. A new way of learning is on the rise with the use of High Fidelity Simulations (HFS) or the Sim Man. HFS is a computerized life size manikin that simulates real human responses to treatment. This new technology allows students to practice rare procedures or treat common diagnoses.

    Read More

  • The Mbuti Culture

    2264 Words  | 5 Pages

    Angeles, Los. (2009). African arts. Volume 28. Published by African Studies Center, University of California.

    Read More

  • Sin and the Scarlet Letter

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    Reverend Dimmesdale represents hidden sin that has been allowed to take root on a soul. “Many a poor soul hath given its confidence to me, not only on the death bed, but while strong in life, and fair in reputation. And ever after seul on outpouring, oh, what a relief I have witnessed in these sinful brethren.” (Hawthorne pg. 120) Dimmesdale describes that the sin has troubled and hurt him and the relief that others have shown when it’s released. “Trusting no man as his friend, he could not recognize his enemy, when the letter actually appeared.” (Hawthorne pg.119) The hidden sin corrupted the way that he viewed the world, distorting his perception of everyone around him. “The sufferer’s conference had been kept in an irritated state, the tendency of which was not to cure by wholesome pain, but to disagree and corrupt his spirited being. Its result on earth, could hardly fail to be insanity and hereafter that eternal alienation from the god and true, of which madnes...

    Read More

  • The Debate Over Pornography Being Art: Pornography, from Andrea Dworkin

    1120 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...of Porn Or The Porn Of Art: A Look At Sex In Modern Art. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

More about Post-Modern Art and Obscenity

Open Document