Posted on 05/11/2007 6:06:45 AM PDT by 3AngelaD
Sen. Barack Obama, already scrutinized for a gaffe in Richmond this week, is now being labeled a censor of fine art.
The Illinois Democrat held a Tuesday fundraiser at the Plant Zero Art Center in Virginia's capital. At the request of the presidential candidate's campaign, the art gallery covered up an oil reproduction of the infamous photo showing pop star Britney Spears getting out of a car sans underwear. The painting has a $5,000 price tag.
Plant Zero also took down a painting of a woman in a "Kill Lincoln" T-shirt — meant to pay homage to the 1980s movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," but potentially misconstrued as a message about the 16th president.
Times-Dispatch reporter Tyler Whitley wrote that an Obama advance staffer asked the gallery to remove or conceal the two art pieces. The staffer threatened to hold the event elsewhere if the demand was not met.
The artist, Jamie Boling, told Mr. Whitley that at first he was offended but relented when he realized the art could have been used against the campaign.
"I wish we could have had a good dialogue about freedom of speech," Mr. Boling told the Times-Dispatch, but added, "I understand that a politician would want to avoid being photographed" in front of the Spears painting.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Boling can say whatever he wants--in words, print, painting, or what you will.
Obama is free to like, dislike, accept, or reject whatever he wants. That's HIS freedom of speech!
And he has every right to insist that lousy "art" be removed as a requisite for his attendance--and then not attend if it isn't.
Maybe Boling can't quite grasp this.
Any fool can create "art". Most of what passes for "art" is downright crummy.
I choose and reject art many times every day, rejecting most of it because I don't like it. That's my exercize in freedom of speech!
Obviously Obama didn't like Boling's art. Maybe he thought it of poor quality and beneath him. Maybe Obama has better taste than Boling. It doesn't mattey why, but Obama obviously didn't like it.
Some art creators (many are not worthy of being called artists) resort to accusations of "violation of freedom of speech" when their "art" is rejected, for whatever reason--including lack of merit. Maybe Boling's one of them.
MESSAGE TO OBAMA: Stick to your principles! If you don't like the "art", demand that it be removed!
I hate it when people misuse the term “censorship.”
The Obama advance staffer told the gallery to remove the art pieces Obama didn't like, or else Obama would hold the event somewhere else. That seems reasonable to me. Maybe the gallery was otherwise suitable, and maybe Obama liked the other paintings okay.
It's like if you're hosting a meeting, and they've got an Elvis-on-black-velvet hanging on the wall, and you say, "Either that goes, or I do," the so-called "artist" shouts "Censorship!" "Violation of freedom of speech!"
Ignore the rabble.
There’s plenty I don’t know, Angela. I suppose that’s one thing. But maybe he liked the building but not the “art”.
This was an attempt to deceive people about the nature of the gallery where he is holding his event.
________
I’m sorry, but your spin on this makes little sense to me. Who is Obama deceiving? What is he deceiving them about? When it comes to substantive issues, this one fails to make the cut, IMO.
Here is a link to a report on the event. The picture shows him standing in front of a flag, rather than the a picture of Brittany Spears emerging from a car, talking about socialized medicine. He wanted to use their space for a fund-raiser without being associated with what actually goes on there.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2007-05-09-0188.html
Presidential hopeful Barack Obama hasn't been elected and already his campaign is engaged in a cover-up of sorts.
Before the Illinois senator spoke Tuesday night at a Richmond art gallery to about 500 Democrats, an Obama advance woman asked the gallery to cover one painting deemed potentially offensive and to remove another.
Artist Jamie Boling said he first was offended by the censorship but now has mixed feelings. In today's political and cultural climate, the pictures could have been used against Obama, he said.
(snip)
Phone calls to the Obama campaign yesterday asking for a response were not returned.
(snip)
Boling, who teaches art at Virginia Commonwealth University, said the Obama advance woman asked him on Friday to cover the Spears painting. She also asked that the "Kill Lincoln" piece be covered or removed.
(snip)
The Obama staffers termed the two offending paintings "a deal breaker" for the Plant Zero appearance, Boling said. The campaign would not hold the event at Plant Zero unless the paintings were covered or removed, he said.
As it turned out, Obama, accompanied by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, entered and left by another doorway and did not pass near the potentially offending paintings.
Boling said an Obama staff member later apologized to him and invited him to the speech but did not rescind the request. The artist said he bears no ill will toward Obama and may vote for him.
"He was good. He was a dynamic speaker," Boling said. "He was motivated, and he was inspiring."
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The artist would have had a conniption if the person asking for the paintings to be removed or covered had been a conservative. I have no doubt that this artist had a whole lot to say about John Ashcroft covering those 2 statues.
Like direct censoring- the motives are political, and the overall results are just the same.
If you want to buy into it, it is no skin off my nose.
Like direct censoring- the motives are political, and the overall results are just the same.
Let’s not abuse the word for political purposes, lest it be defanged when true censorship occurs.
Seems to me like another smart, classy move on Obama’s part - standing up to the junk culture purveyors.
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