Visual Art

American Nocturne: When Public Art Engenders Controversy; UPDATE: Mural Removed, Elgin Arts Commission Will Decide Fate

By |2020-01-03T15:30:50-05:00May 26th, 2016|Blog, Incidents, Letters, NCAC at work, Updates|

NCAC has sent a letter to Elgin Mayor David Kaptain supporting the mural's return in advance of the City Council's vote on its fate on July 13th.

Penny Dreadful in Paint: Accusations of Blasphemy Hit Virginia MOCA/Hi-Fructose Exhibition

By |2020-01-06T00:07:46-05:00May 16th, 2016|Blog, Incidents, NCAC at work|

Mark Ryden: Fountain, 2003. Oil on Panel, 12x6.25 inches. ©Mark Ryden. In a replay of former New York Mayor Guiliani's attempt to grab attention by attacking "blasphemous" art, Ben Loyola, a member of the Virginia Beach Arts and Humanities Commission, is directing his ire against the work of LA-based painter Mark Ryden, featured in Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of [...]

Staten Island High School Art Students Told to Clothe their Anti-Rape Artwork

By |2020-01-06T00:07:45-05:00May 9th, 2016|Incidents, Letters, NCAC at work|

When students at Susan E. Wagner High School in Staten Island produced a photographic artwork critiquing rape culture and the sexualization of young women's bodies, the administration responded by removing the artwork, implicitly sexualizing the body of a young woman. Last week, a photo-collage was removed from a student exhibition in the lobby of the high school due to its [...]

Threats to Blows: We Stand with Illma Gore

By |2020-01-06T00:07:45-05:00May 3rd, 2016|NCAC at work|

@illmagore : "Make America Great Again"   On Saturday, in the latest fallout over artist Illma Gore's controversial nude portrait of Donald Trump, Gore was physically assaulted by a Trump supporter not far from her home in LA. After punching the diminutive artist in the face, her attacker shouted "Trump 2016" and jumped into a waiting vehicle. Gore posted the story [...]

Shameless in Lafayette: Nude ArtWalk !

By |2016-07-07T15:59:36-04:00April 7th, 2016|Blog, NCAC at work|

A few days ago we wrote about artist Nicole Touchet 's recent brush with censorship in Free the Nipple: Nude Paintings Raise Temperatures in Lafayette. The artists of Lafayette have since rallied around the cause of freedom of expression with a city-wide Nude ArtWalk. For this occasion we offer our statement on nudes and censorship: The Human Body is Not [...]

Censored Art: Profanity and Police Brutality

By |2020-01-03T15:01:07-05:00February 6th, 2015|Blog|

The Charlie Hebdo massacres prompted worldwide calls to embrace and celebrate artistic freedom. But actions speak louder than words. As demonstrations in support of free speech were held in Paris and we all reconfirmed our commitment to an open exchange of ideas, two cultural spaces in the United States-– one a library, the other a university-– censored artwork.

NCAC Joins FIRE in Letter to University of Iowa Over Disturbing Censorship

By |2020-01-02T15:33:06-05:00December 16th, 2014|Incidents|

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) are urging University of Iowa president Sally Mason to issue a statement recognizing the First Amendment rights of Professor Serhat Tanyolacar and make clear that his artwork is fully protected under the First Amendment. The letter was issued in response to the forced removal from [...]

The Damned Dozens: Art Censorship in 2014

By |2020-01-06T00:07:35-05:00December 4th, 2014|Blog|

Don’t hold your breath for nipple reveals or cock shows – while artistic representations of nudes remain a regular target of censorship, the most compelling and controversial artwork in 2014 came from artists challenging social norms and exposing cultural fissures. There was the occasional use of female anatomy or children as subjects, but what each painting, photo, or mural on [...]

The Top 40 Free Speech Defenders of 2014

By |2020-08-19T12:00:30-04:00October 23rd, 2014|Blog|

"Complacency is ever the enabler of darkest deeds." Robert Fanney recognized, as we do at NCAC, that silence and apathy lead to repression and censorship. In our 40th anniversary year, we celebrate the artists, authors, students, educators, librarians, lawmakers, celebs du jour, and yes, even corporations, who refused to remain silent on the top threats to free speech in 2014. [...]

Sculpture of Male Nude Declared Porn by Some Texans

By |2020-01-03T14:52:14-05:00September 24th, 2014|Blog|

Jorge Marin's sculpture group Wings of the City has been on display in Houston's Discovery Green Park since early September. Almost predictably some viewers are objecting to the nudity of the sculptures. As usual those who object do it supposedly on behalf of the innocence of children - though Wings of the City has been exhibited internationally with no apparent damage to [...]

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