chris olifi
In September of 1999, the Brooklyn museum of art displayed an exhibit called "Sensations", in which a depiction of a half naked Virgin Mary was covered in elephant feces. In October, 1999 Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said that the BMA should have its funding pulled and should not be sponsored by the City of New York. The First Amendment states that we have the right to freely express ourselves as long as we are not interfering with another's rights. Censorship has hindered our cultural development as humans throughout history, but it has also set standards and outlined moral conservation. One of the most important rules in allowing freedom of expression is to warn the audience that there might be some vulgar or inappropriate content in your work without lessening the impact of the piece. On album covers there is a black and white sticker stating "parental advisory, explicit lyrics." Before television programs there is a warning that "this program is for mature audiences only." The people of New York, not just Catholics were outraged that the BMA would allow such filth to go on; and yet thousands of them lined up to pay $5.00 each to see it. " I believe that the line cannot be drawn because one person's threshold for obscenity i
Art in every form is sometimes undermined by censorship. Occasionally, art is based totally on the element of surprise. When an artist unveils his masterpiece he does not tell the audience what the piece is going to be like. The ooh's and aah's are the very purpose of art. If I was forewarned that I was going to see a Virgin Mary covered in poop, when I finally saw it, I would know what to expect and say "wow" very apathetically. In a different perspective, if, without warning, I should happen to walk into the museum and see an icon of my religion doused in fecal matter I am going to say "HOLY SHIT" and mean it, literally. survives. "The First Amendment is one of the finest things about this great land. It is what it is and it need not be altered. As far as I'm concerned, this artist can cover anything he wants with any kind of dung available and thus express his true being. Totally fine with me. I do however take exception to being forced to pay for this. It should never have been funded with my money in the first place, and as far as I'm concerned, the Mayor should pull funding. Free expression is terrific. So is free enterprise. If it really is a universal expression, then people tend to purchase art and include it in their environment. I create art for a living without having to force anyone at gunpoint (ref: the IRS) to pay for it. So why should the rules be any different in this case?" (Bob Muthoff) By taking away government funding from the museum, Giuliani is taking away the artists right to free expression. Censorship itself causes the need for more cens
Some common words found in the essay are:
Jeff Janeckzco, Olifi BMA, York Amendment, HOLY SHIT, Ross Giuliani, Bob Muthoff, God Sensations, York Catholics, Virgin Mary, Chris Olifi, free expression, elephant feces, virgin mary, funding museum, i'm concerned, mary covered, pulling funding, chris olifi, virgin mary covered,
Approximate Word count = 1067
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
