January 2011 - National Coalition Against Censorship

Policing The Sacred – College Art Association Panel – Wednesday, February 9th, 12:30-2 PM

By NCAC Blog|2020-01-05T23:16:09-05:00January 31st, 2011|Blog|

Policing The Sacred, organized by the National Coalition Against Censorship, looks at the volatile relationship between art, politics and religion.In recent decades the tensions between these have become intense, evident in the American culture wars of the 90s, the Danish cartoon uproar, and ongoing battles over artistic depictions of religious figures, including the recent removal of a David Wojnarowicz video from a show at the National Portrait Gallery. The panel, open to the public, takes place on Wednesday, February 9th, from 12:30-2 PM.

National Art and Free Speech Organizations Urge Smithsonian to Adopt New Policies

Incidents

National Art and Free Speech Organizations Urge Smithsonian to Adopt New Policies

By NCAC Staff|2016-01-25T10:59:34-05:00January 28th, 2011|Incidents|

A group of national and Washington D.C. art and free speech organizations sent a letter to the Smithsonian Board of Regents asking them to adopt explicit policies that uphold First Amendment principles.

Dennis Oppenheim A Leading Artist, No Stranger To Controversy and Censorship, Passes Away

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Dennis Oppenheim A Leading Artist, No Stranger To Controversy and Censorship, Passes Away

By NCAC Staff|2019-03-15T18:14:33-04:00January 25th, 2011|Blog|

We’d like to take a moment to honor artist Dennis Oppenheim, who passed away Friday, January 21. Oppenheim was no stranger to controversy and censorship. His sculpture, Device to Root Out Evil (pictured) took years to find public acceptance.

US Government, Sponsor of Book Censorship

By NCAC Blog|2016-01-14T12:56:34-05:00January 24th, 2011|Blog|

NCAC occasionally publishes guest blogs on topics related to free speech. The views in these articles do not necessarily reflect the official position of NCAC, however they raise important issues for discussion. By Vel Nirtist How do you keep the unwashed masses known as the "public" from highly prestigious and quite remunerative pursuit known as "public debate" which rightly belongs [...]

http://www.nationalportraitgallery.us/

By Svetlana Mintcheva|2019-03-13T15:39:47-04:00January 21st, 2011|Blog|

ARTINFO reports: After outraging the art world, several of its funders, and a giant chunk of its constituency with its fatal decision to remove David Wojnarowicz’s “Fire in My Belly” from the National Portrait Gallery’s “Hide/Seek” show, the Smithsonian has chosen to respond to its critics in a dramatic, and rather odd, fashion: instead of returning the work to the [...]

Wilson Play Will Go On!

By Svetlana Mintcheva|2019-03-07T23:29:00-05:00January 20th, 2011|Blog|

Overruling a decision by the schools' superintendent, the Waterbury, Conn Board of Education allowed a high-school production of August Wilson's play, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, to go on. Superintendent David L. Snead had opposed the production, saying that the school and educators should not be staging a play that might encourage use of the word "nigger." The play will [...]

Waterbury CT School District Attempts to Cancel August Wilson Play

By NCAC Blog|2019-03-07T21:45:25-05:00January 18th, 2011|Blog|

Censorship continues full front attacks on all the arts. Two weeks into 2011, we've already seen censorship of David Wojnarowicz at the National Portrait Gallery; a new edition of Mark Twain's Huckelberry Finn hit the bookstores, without the N-word; the arrest of Belarus theater director Nikolai Khalezin of Belarus Free Theatre and now the Waterbury Connecticut school district is attempting [...]

New Museum Opens – Museum of Censored Art

By NCAC Blog|2016-01-14T12:58:12-05:00January 12th, 2011|Blog|

On Thursday, January 13th, a new museum opens in Washington, DC: The Museum of Censored Art, founded by art and free speech activists Mike Blasenstein and Michael Dax Iacovone. Mike and Mike are the iPad protesters, who were expelled from the National Portrait Gallery when they attempted to show David Wojnarowicz's video Fire In My Belly in the galleries of [...]

Responding to Censorship

By NCAC Blog|2016-01-15T10:37:19-05:00January 10th, 2011|Uncategorized|

The removal of David Wojnarowicz's video from the National Portrait Gallery last month renews conservative groups' attacks on the arts. Clearly, it's timed with the ascension of the Republican majority in the House and attempts to formulate a strategy for eliminating voices and ideas they find troubling. It's remarkable how unoriginal and inflexible their thinking and approach has become, using [...]

NewSouth Books Publishes Mark Twain (Expurgated)

By NCAC Blog|2020-01-03T13:39:01-05:00January 6th, 2011|Blog|

NewSouth Books, based in Alabama, is publishing a new edition of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. As many know, Mr. Twain has been very much in the news lately. His Autobiography is a current bestseller (NYTimes bestseller list for 10 weeks now) and is earning well-deserved praise. Regrettably, now we must add another reason [...]

NewSouth Books Releases Alternative Version of Huckleberry Finn

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NewSouth Books Releases Alternative Version of Huckleberry Finn

By NCAC Staff|2020-01-03T14:17:28-05:00January 4th, 2011|Blog|

In January of 2011 NewSouth Books in Montgomery, Alabama decided to release a version of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn replacing the word “nigger” with “slave” 219 times. The idea to replace the word came from Alan Gribben, a professor of English at Auburn University at Montgomery, who approached the publisher in July 2010. The decision sparked a debate among educators [...]

Monthly Archives: January 2011