There Are Things Facebook Doesn’t Want You To See
Two more examples of the social media giant's rather peculiar standards about female nudity.
Removal of Student Art Undermines Artistic Freedom
The decision to quickly remove a student art project involving a teepee from a California college campus sent the wrong message about artistic freedom and claims of offense.
Victory: Library Will Continue to Display “Edgy” Exhibit
An exhibit of dolls at the Long Beach library was deemed too controversial because it included a depiction of police brutality. The library decided to go on with the show; NCAC offers some guidelines for curators who are faced with similar controversies.
NCAC Goes to France: Artists Adapt Best Practices for Managing Controversy
Artists in France are adapting NCAC's work.
After Questionable Copyright Claim, Public Library Removes Mother Teresa Painting
Is this really about copyright? Trumbull removes a painting of Mother Teresa from the public library amidst questionable claims of copyright infringement.
Censored Art: Profanity and Police Brutality
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.
Charlie Hebdo and Media Self-Censorship
Many US media outlets are reporting on the Charlie Hebdo massacre--but pointedly avoiding showing the images at the center of the story.
NCAC Joins FIRE in Letter to University of Iowa Over Disturbing Censorship
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
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
"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
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 [...]
Harvard Law Review Censors Link to Nan Goldin Photograph
The Harvard Law Review has censored a link to an image by the prominent photographer Nan Goldin, ostensibly because of concerns about child pornography. The image, "Klara and Eddy Belly Dancing," shows two little girls cavorting, one of them nude. The link was included in an article by Marjorie Heins on censorship by private companies that offer social-media sites, web [...]
Conflict Avoidance
Cancelled commencement speakers, a rush of attempts to put trigger warnings on class content, student petitions to remove potentially disturbing artwork from campus… What is going on? Academia is no stranger to free speech battles. In the 1950s professors could be ousted for “treasonous or seditious acts or utterances” or for being members of an organization advocating the violent overthrow [...]
Damien Hirst’s “The Virgin Mother” Under Fire In Long Island. Protect Interesting Public Art!
Damien Hirst's The Virgin Mother is a large piece about even larger subjects: life, death, birth, and humanity. But is it too large for Old Westbury, L.I.? The Virgin Mother was previously displayed (there are several casts) at Lever House in Manhattan, outside London's Royal Academy, and on Fontvieille Harbour, Monaco. But now that it landed in posh Old Westbury, [...]
Kennesaw State reinstates art installation, but is there more trouble brewing in Academia? Trigger warnings.
Kennesaw State finally formally announced the reinstatement of Ruth Stanford's “A Walk in the Valley” to the opening exhibition at the new Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum of Art. The piece, a commissioned work about Georgia author Corra Harris' homestead, was taken down two weeks ago, shortly before the formal opening on Saturday, March 1st.
Kennesaw State University To Restore Censored Artwork
The National Coalition Against Censorship received word that Ruth Stanford's "A Walk in the Valley" has been restored to the Kennesaw State University's Zuckerman Museum of Art. KSU had said “A Walk in the Valley” was pulled because it did not fit the "celebratory nature" of the museum's opening.
Artist’s Response to Sandy Hook Pulled from Art Center
We urge the Center to reconsider the exclusion of Linda Cunningham’s timely and powerful "School Days" piece, and adopt exhibition policies that demonstrate a respect for the creative freedom of their members
Why is this artist’s work “too controversial” for an art center exhibition?
Paul Carter/The Register-Guard As a dues-paying member of the Emerald Art Center in Springfield, OR, Linda Cunningham prepared a piece of work for the monthly members' show. The "pastoral" works of other members were accepted without incident, but Cunningham's three-dimensional piece was deemed "too controversial" and rejected by the executive board of the Art Center, according to The [...]
Happy Nude Year! Lawsuit Forces Display of Nudes Until January 17
Court settlement extends San Bernardino County Government Center exhibit, to compensate for time during which paintings had been removed. Today NCAC and and the ACLU of Southern California were please to see the final court settlement that extends the exhibition time of three recently restored paintings at the San Bernardino County Government Center. The extended display period will compensate for [...]
*UPDATE: VICTORY!* ACLU files lawsuit to uphold artistic freedom in San Bernardino County
**Victory! San Bernardino County Restores Artwork! NCAC congratulates artists, community members, and ACLU for defending First Amendment principles** Read the whole story in the San Bernardino Sun. This past September, NCAC received a call from an artist outraged at the removal of three paintings from the Hispanic National Heritage Art Exhibition at the San Bernardino County Government Center. Apparently [...]
Latino Artists’ Nudes Restored at San Bernardino Government Center
NCAC and ACLU-SC ask the county board to immediately restore artwork and establish best practices for managing future controversies in accordance with First Amendment principles.
Street Artist Essam Talks About His Arrest, Importance of Artistic Freedom
Essam Political street artist Essam Attia, 30, was arrested last November for planting dozens of fake public service ads around Manhattan claiming that the New York Police Department (NYPD) used drones to spy on citizens. The pubic was quick to react, launching an online Free Essam campaign and a petition asking that all charges be dropped. We caught [...]
Photographer Betsy Schneider on the Kohler Arts Center Banning Her Work
Betsy Schneider Are photos of a naked child offensive? Some folks in Sheboygan, WI, thought Betsy Schneider’s images of her growing daughter were offensive and recently pressured the Michael Kohler Arts Center to remove them from a group show. NCAC spoke to Schneider, an award-winning photographer, about her reaction to the ban, her now-teenage daughter’s response to all [...]
Kansas Board of Regents Must Overturn Exhibit Takedown
NCAC and the ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri sent a letter urging the board to restore the art exhibition program at Dykes Library, located in the Kansas University Medical Center.
Chris Brown’s Monstery House, Graffiti as Art and Other First Amendment Questions
Last week brought us one of those rare occasions where Perez Hilton reported on the invocation of First Amendment rights, as Chris Brown declared he would fight a Los Angeles citation. Brown was fined $376 for "unpermitted and excessive signage" for graffiti he had painted on the outside of his Hollywood Hills home, after neighbors complained that the pictures terrified [...]
Protests After Alaska School Censors Student Art Show
"Art is a way to speak our minds!!!" one hand-drawn sign reads. "IB Art Matters!" reads another. These signs hang on the art display boards where art, done by Palmer High School's IB Art students, once hung. In response to recent censorship by the High School, students have made their voice heard in defense of their work and in support [...]
7-Year-Old Suspended for “Gun-Shaped” Pop Tart (Yes, Seriously)
This is a new one: apparently eating a Pop Tart into the shape of a gun (or a mountain, it was open to interpretation...) is "using food to make an inappropriate gesture" and a reason for suspension. Dear parents, make sure to talk to your child about imaginary pastry violence.
National organizations, artists and academics protest removal of artwork from John Michael Kohler Arts Center
Censorship of Betsy Schneider's "Quotidian" in response to complaints jeopardizes the institution's integrity and commitment to artistic freedom.
Free Speech and LGBTQ Rights Groups Oppose Cancellation of Exhibit at Stonewall National Museum and Archives
Artists and action groups join NCAC in letter to museum. Leave your comment of support!
Art, Porn and Censorship: the Mansfield Art Center (OH) Covers up Painting
A painting, included in a juried exhibition show at the Mansfield Art Center in Ohio, was partially covered with black paper. The painting had been selected for inclusion in the show, but the management of the Art Center decided that the outside edges of the work, which were covered with clippings from pornographic magazines, should not be seen by anyone. Sans [...]
NCAC joins international group protecting freedom of artistic expression
In a networked world, it is important that we work in solidarity to promote global artistic freedom.
MECA Outmaneuvers MOCHA, Shows Palestinian Youth Art Across From Original Gallery
From Indybay.org: The Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) and supporters protested the decision by the Museum of Children's Art (MOCHA) to cancel the exhibit "A Child's View From Gaza" under pressure from Zionist organizations. MOCHA held firm that they would not allow the exhibit. MECA announced that the exhibit would open on the originally scheduled date anyway, outside rather than [...]
Cancelling Palestinian Kids’ Art Exhibit a Shameful Violation of Free Speech Principles
Oakland Children's Museum incident the latest in a pattern of political interest groups silencing open critique and discourse on conflict in the Middle East.
Photo by Noah Berger for the San Francisco Chronicle
Victory Over Censorship in Colorado
One more public exhibition space forgot about their obligations under the First Amendment and removed artwork they found subjectively "offensive." In April this happened in California, this time it was Colorado. To their credit, however, local officials quickly corrected their mistake when reminded by NCAC's letter that it is not the role of public officials to shield the eyes of the public from work because they subjectively decides it is not “family-friendly.”
NCAC Covering Smithsonian Flashpoints Forum On Censorship
We'll post live updates from the much-anticipated "Flashpoints and Fault Lines" forum, planned in the aftermath of the censoring of David Wojnarowicz's "A Fire In My Belly" from the National Portrait Gallery in late 2010
Worldwide Protests For Ai Weiwei’s Release
Demonstrators all over the world were sitting outside Chinese embassies on Sunday demanding the release of the detained Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.
Victory! Marin Civic Center Recinds Censorship Of Painting
After receiving a letter from NCAC and First Amendment Project, Civic Center requests that the nude painting be reinstated to art show
Letter From NCAC and FAP To Marin Civic Center In Response To Art Censorship
As organizations dedicated to promoting the First Amendment right to free speech, including freedom of artistic expression, we are deeply concerned about the removal of Sylvia Cossich Goodman’s work from the annual Marin Arts Council member show at the County Civic Center. Your decision, as a government employee, to remove an artwork from an exhibition held at a public space raises serious First Amendment concerns. We urge the Civic Center to immediately put the work back on display and, in the future, draft exhibition policies that are consistent with First Amendment principles.
Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’? Create a Statue of Jackson With Child
A statue commemorating the time Michael Jackson dangled his baby son out of a Berlin hotel window was unveiled in London this week. L.A. artist Maria Von Köhler has received death threats for the statute, entitled "Madonna and Child". Others have asked that the installation be removed. Enraged fan krazy4kitties asks, "This is disgraceful. What kind of person would do [...]