03 December 2007

Censorship and caution

The Iranian-Dutch artist Sooreh Hera was invited to exhibit at the Gemeente Museum in The Hague. Thus apparently not big news, she had just finished her studies at the Royal Academy in the same city, but a part of her work has been, before the opening already been removed of the exhibition by the director of the museum Wim van Krimpen.

Muslim homosexuals are portrayed (in The Netherlands) wearing Mohamed and Ali masks. Van Krimpen, who chose the works, is afraid to show the photographs because 'they can be sensitive for some people'.
It is so sad, that people are frightened and make such a coward actions but, the director of the museum...?

It brings me doubts of where I live. Is this Mexico City in the 80's when a friend of mine, Rolando de la Rosa, showed a Virgin of Guadalupe with a Marilyn Monroe face and a mob of traditional, right, and conservative women assaulted the Museum of Modern Art and the work was removed and the life of the artist was (partly) destroyed? And the director of the Museum was sacked because he supported the freedom of the artist!
(The example with Monroe, is not de la Rosa's work, but this one is made by Ahumada).
I don't have to go that far, last year was Hester Scheurwater's at the See me, feel me exhibition at Koorenhuis in The Hague kindly asked to show her video only at nightly hours.
At a clinic in 1993, I was asked to remove a painting of muscled man with naked torso and short trousers because 'it could hurt feelings' as it was (by chance) placed at the entrance of the gym. It was such an innocent painting. At least these two last cases were not religion related, but any way...
I am annoyed. Annoyed of the cowards.
Even YouTube removed the video of Sooreh Hera....

To read more about this and other sad examples go to
B-logos: My Sweet Lord: religiĆ³n y censura.
Replica 21: Censura: 10 casos de la vida real. Both in Spanish.

2 comments:

J.Sorel said...

Excellent blog.

Thank you for mention my post, and for the Ahumada correction.

Here is another case, in my other blog

http://juanburidan.blogspot.com/2007/11/arte-oficial.html

Marisa Polin said...

Juan,
Thanks for the extra information about your Blog and the Colombian case, I knew already about it but not in details.
I mentioned it on my blog of december 4.
Keep me informed.
Regards,
Marisa