Posted on 12/06/2006 4:08:35 PM PST by wagglebee
PARIS, December 6, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – More than 100 international figures of the art world have rushed to the defence of Henry-Claude Cousseau who is facing charges of displaying child pornography as art. Among the modern art luminaries defending Cousseau is England’s Sir Nicholas Serota, the curator of the prestigious Tate gallery.
Alfred Pacquement, director of the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris told the Times that Cousseau is a “serious figure” in the modern art world.
The petition states, “We wish to express our dismay at this attack on the artistic and curatorial freedom of expression and offer our unconditional support for Henry-Claude Cousseau in the present circumstances, together with the exhibition curators Marie-Laure Bernadac (a curator at the Louvre) and Stéphanie Moisdon (an art critic).”
Cousseau, the director of the prestigious École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, is accused of displaying works of “a violent pornographic nature, unacceptable for a young public” and “spreading violent messages of a pornographic character or contrary to the dignity due to a minor”. A conviction could bring a fine of €75,000 and up to three years in prison.
The exhibition called, Presumed Innocent: Contemporary Art and Childhood, held in 2000, displayed works that included video footage of children performing graphic sex acts and photos of young children with their eyes scratched out.
The Times reports the exhibition was held at the Centre d’Arts Plastiques Contemporains, one of several important museums in Bordeaux. A judicial inquiry was opened in response to complaints from La Mouette, a child protection association in Agen.
Northern Ireland MLA Esmond Birnie of south Belfast and the Ulster Unionist Party’s spokesman for family and children, condemned the use of “artistic expression” as cover for “abusive pornography.” He expressed his shock at the “astonishing” level of support for Cousseau in the art community.
“We have all become aware of the way in which “modern art” has sometimes become an expensive joke; preserved dead sheep or sharks or an unmade bed or a pile of bricks,” said Birnie.
“It does seem, sadly, that these days art is an excuse for child pornography.”
Well OJ Simpson was a "serious figure" in the sports world and Michael Jackson was a "serious figure" in the music world, but they're still criminals whether they got convicted or not.
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Pictures, please. We know child porn when we see it.
But black bars, by all means.
Lock him up and fire everyone in the "Art" field who supports him.
I'd rather not see FR defaced with such atrocities. Post a link if needed, but don't post it here. Thanks.
More details here---not that any is needed. This is indeed criminally decadent stuff...artists pursuing fame on the bodies of children. I wonder if any of the "artists" are Americans and whether charges can be brought against them in the US preferably in some county in Tennessee or west Texas?
http://newsgrist.typepad.com/underbelly/2006/11/morality_crusad.html
(Note to self: PeterFinn would rather not see redacted child porn.)
I wuz makin' a funny.
Art Ping
" ... displayed works that included video footage of children performing graphic sex acts and photos of young children with their eyes scratched out. "
is the evidence ... the words are sufficient ...
Just another 'incremental' attempt to destroy decency and morality.
It never should have been displayed and if observers say it's porn ... it's porn ... and subject to the law.
For those who mught wonder, this is a good example of "oxymoron".
There are others, that are sick. Some are really sick.
No evidence here, either way.
Ah, sorry. It's been too serious a day for me. My humour seems to be off.
No prob, bob. Child porn is nothing to laugh at, anyway.
Keep being,
What really cracks me up is that one of the pictures they are raving about is of Brooke Shields when she was 10 (which had already been on display at several galleries over the last 20 years) sitting in a bathtub.
In my opinion...anything Larry Clark does is porn....
WTF? How did their eyes get scratched out?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
I can (usually) put up with liberal artists making weird, rather offensive crap about America (There was an episode of 'King of the Hill' which at one point pretty humorously skewered those kinds of artists), but this is going way too far. It said that if convicted, this guy could face a fine and up to three years in prison. I'd say that's far too lenient for this twisted freak. Stuff like that isn't art, it's a glorification of evil.
Production photo from Pretty Baby, perhaps? I am sort of morbidly curious what was shown in the exhibit; apparently, it's naughty enough to be prosecuted, but safe enough that it took years to do so.
Take a look at some of the current clothing catalogs.
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