Art Censorship Essay Research Paper From matthewksproulrosehulmanedu — страница 3

are shown.People fear most of all the concept of nudity. Kenneth Clark sums up the problem with this following statement. “Since the human body is the most perfect of all forms, we cannot see it too often” (Heins 95). “The body is the mirror of perfection, but now it has become an object of humiliation and shame” (Heins 95). There is a terrible fear of the unclothed for some reason. Even Donatello and Michelangelo have both faced censorship for painting works of art that contained nudity (Heins 109). Why is the naked human so frightening to many people? The United States is one of the few countries on the planet where nudity cannot be seen. Movies receive R ratings for it. Television cannot show any form of nudity. It is almost considered a sin to view a naked body.

Statistics were compiled in a survey by Time magazine. When people were asked why they fight art, fifty percent answered it was because of the nudity. Thirty-one percent said political content was why they opposed some art. Sixteen percent complained about some of the religious viewpoints. Another sixteen percent did not like any homosexual content in art, which contains nudity. Seven percent opposed the racist, insensitive content of art. Another six percent complained about sexual harassing content. This is more nudity. The leftover people said some art was just downright ugly (Farley 12). There is definitely a problem here. This society must overcome a mental block which is hampering its ability to expand. A free society is based on the principle that each person has the right

to decide their own interpretations. People have the ability to choose what art is to them. People also have the ability to create what art they want. Acceptance is the key to a society which expects to continue its growth. Sandra Day O’Connor is a current Supreme Court Justice. She was the first woman ever appointed to the land’s highest court. She has a quotation that supports the ability to create free art. “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and the mystery of human life” (Sandra Day O’Connor). Who is to argue with her? Art is a very important factor in society. In every city and state, when the Chamber of Commerce puts out a brochure, invariable they mention the arts (Heins 121). Local

orchestras, theaters, and museums are usually pictured on the brochures. The NEA is one of the few government agencies that has been free of fraud over the years. It should be allowed to continue its funding of art, but without regulations and stipulations. The cutting of federal funds that go towards artistic programs, which the government considers obscene, is unconstitutional and a form of censorship. This is true for many reasons, but there are three strong points which can sum up what is wrong with censoring art. Nobody can clearly define what obscene really means. The word may be interpreted in many different ways; therefore, it is impossible to enforce regulations that involve such abstract titles. In a democratic nation the government has never had the power to instruct

artists and performers on what to create, but the United States is attempting to accomplish this. Finally, the only thing that is constant is change. If other people’s differences are not accepted, or even attempted to be accepted, our society will never expand and advance in a positive direction. Art refreshes and enhances the human spirit. Art has always pushed on the perimeters of social convention and only by seeing it in new ways can society advance (Gergen 80). Trying to imagine life without any artistic influence is almost impossible. The government must not be allowed to continue its restricting of federal funds which go towards merited programs. This form of censorship undermines the basic principle of the Constitution. This censorship has already overlapped into other

areas of society. All types of music and literary works have come under attack every single day. Sidney Yates has given some insight to what art censorship could lead to. “Shakespeare can be kind of bawdy. The NEA’s contract could encourage people to criticize grants or the presentation of his plays” (William 85). The NEA’s new language could lead to a ban on anything involving religion, social issues, or politics (William 85). When Congress created the NEA, the idea was to advance artistic freedom and creativity, not government approved , officially acceptable art (Heins 117). Censors claim to be defending American values. “All censorship does is stir the emotions of people and spark an intellectual swill of comments and debate” (Reichman 3). This paper was written