The Reins of Perception

Censorship.

The very word raises the hackles on most Americans.

Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia stand in our collective memory as extreme examples. As early as 1933, the Nazi government was destroying works of art it deemed "un-German", and firing University professors whose work failed to meet their approval. In The Gulag Archipelago, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn elucidates brutal repression at the hands of a Soviet government which disapproved of his art.

Censorship-related issues hit current news as well. A few years ago, the violence which erupted in response to some Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad smacked of Nazi-era repression. And, earlier this month, a piece on Morning Edition mentioned artistic censorship, along with other measures, being used to enforce new conservative rule in Chechnya. Chechen artists must now meet standards judged by the government's culture ministry as conforming to the "Chechen mentality and upbringing".

As a freedom-loving American, and as an artist, these things freeze my blood. To resort to violence over art - to limit creative expression to the vision promoted by a government - seem so obviously wrong.

But: let's look more closely. Let's take the question home. Where do we experience censorship? Is it ever justified?

As a parent, there are certainly images and works of art I don't feel comfortable allowing my children to experience. I consider this not so much censorship as guidance. Is it also guidance, then, if a teacher in a public school does not allow his or her students to see - or to create - certain types of image?

What about in the local art gallery?

A few years ago, British artist Chris Ofili sparked outcry with an exhibit which featured, amongst other controversial displays, a collaged image of the Virgin Mary which included elephant dung. This exhibit was held at the Brooklyn Art Museum; then-mayor Rudolph Guiliani threatened to withdraw city funding from the museum unless the show was cancelled. (Click here for a thought-provoking essay on this event.)

Censorship? Obviously. Justified? Well... that depends on your point of view.

What if an art gallery or museum in your town faced a similar dilemma? Would the validity of censorship depend on whose beliefs were offended - or defended?

Dear Reader, what do YOU think? Post a comment!