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Re: AN EDUCATION IN REALITY?
At 12:26 PM -0700 10/22/00, Gary Miller wrote:
>Bob;
>
>One other issue is that I may not have the choice to hang the controversial
>image or not, even if I prove that the school is not liable in any way for
>the images presented. The school's final reviewer may outright say no, and
>then I have not recourse. That type of censorship bothers me the most,
>especially coming from an art school. I agree with you that I, as the
>artist, should decide what images to show and therefore then face the
>consequences of my actions. I cannot very well stand up for free speech and
>freedom of censorship if they will not give me the opportunity. And in this
>lies the real lesson in reality.
The other lesson here is that while you have the right to "say" (and all the
associated interpretations) anything you want, you have absolutely no right
to be provided a soapbox by anyone, any organization, or any school
or government.
I don't think that the issue here is so much censorship (because you could find
somewhere else to display this print) as it is suppression of "speech" because
someone doesn't want to hear it or see it. Your school should be supportive
of your vision (unless your goal is to suppress other people's ability to
express themselves) regardless of who might find it offensive.
All that said, this is a fierce and current battle that's being fought all
over the world. Trying to work with your school to calm their
fears might lead to the best final outcome.