censorship
1. The office of a Roman censor (or its period).1600 Holland "Livy 264" (R.) To stand for a censorship. 1869 Rawlinson "Anc. Hist." 361 The dignity of the censorship was...lessened by the Aemilian law.
2. a. gen. The office or function of a censor (see CENSOR sb. 2) official supervision. spec. control of dramatic production and films (see CENSOR sb. 2b, e). 1591 Percivall. "Sp. Dict.", Censura, the censorship or judgement. 1641 Milton Ch. Govt. II. iii. (1851) 157 Other things than a Christian censorship. 1856 Froude "Hist. Eng." I. 292 There was no censorship upon speech. 1875 Jowett "Plato (ed.2)" V 42 If I were a lawgiver, I would exercise a censorship over the poets. 1879 "Encycl. Brit. IX". 143 A notable incident in the history of the stage, inasmuch as it led to the institution of dramatic censorship. 1912 "Times" 4 July 6/2 (heading) Cinematographic film censorship. 1918B. Miall tr. "A. Hamons Lessons of World War" 146 The censorship of all correspondence was a stupendous task. 1930 "Times" 17 Febr. 15/5 Mr. Shaw on Film Censorship.
b. spec. of the press; see CENSOR sb. 2b.1827 Hallam "Const. Hist." (1876) III. xv. 166 Even during the existence of a censorship, a host of unlicensed publications... bore witness in the inefficacy of its restrictions. 1841 W. Spaulding "Italy & It. Isl. III" 80 In the middle of 1806, a decree of the viceroy declared, that no literary censorship should be instituted. 1855 Macaulay "Hist. Eng. IV". 540 The law which subjected the press to a censorship. 1876 Green "Short Hist." viii. 5 (1882) 514 The censorship struck fierce blows at the Puritan press.
c. as a university or college office1880 T. Fowler "Locke" ii. 12 The Censorship of Natural Philosophy...he appears never to have held.
3. Psychol. + CENSOR sb. 4; the function of a mental censor.1924 W.B. Selbie "Psych. Relig." 80 Unpleasant experiences...driven out of consciousness, and kept there by means of what Freud calls a censorship. Ibid. 90 The repressions and censorships of which Freud and others make so much are connected with changes in the nervous system. 1925 tr. "Freud's Coll. Papers" VI. iii. 54 Dream formation takes place under the sway of a censorship which compels distortion of the dream thoughts.
http://www.thefileroom.org/documents/Definitions.html
Degenerate Art
The years 1927-37 were critical for artists in Germany. In 1927, the National Socialist Society for German Culture was formed. The aim of this organization was to halt the "corruption of art" and inform the people about the relationship between race and art. By 1933, the terms "Jewish," "Degenerate," and "Bolshevik" were in common use to describe almost all modern art.
Video 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwmE-uXzick
Video 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rkjxAETGkQ&feature=related
The File Room
http://www.thefileroom.org/
Description of Artwork: Two minute video of a young lady in a slip playing with a blue 36 inch balloon in a studio. She sits on the balloon, bounces it, and eventually pops the balloon with a steak knife.
Description of Incident: YouTube hosts user submitted videos. The video in question was submitted to the website and received rave reviews from subscribers. It was viewed close to 2,000 times in a one day period and was in the top-20 favorites for the day. An email was received from YouTube which said, "After being flagged by members of the YouTube community and reviewed by YouTube staff, the video below has been removed due to its inappropriate nature." It should be noted that the video contained no nudity, no sexual content, and no harsh language. It is a video of a young lady playing with a balloon.
Results of Incident: No recourse or avenue of appeal was offered. No explanation was given for the decision. The video was simply removed from public view.
Source: First-hand account with witness
Submitted By: Henry Butz
Name: Video removed from YouTube
Date: 2006-present
Location: North America
Subject: Other
Medium: Film Video
Artist: Henry Butz
Confronting Bodies: The YouTube Team
Date of Action: Tuesday, February 6th, 2007 3:21pm EDT
Specific Location: YouTube.com
Name: Federico Solmi charged with obscenity in Italy due to the showing of his video "The Evil Empire”
Date: 2006-present
Location: Europe
Subject: Religious , Explicit Sexuality
Medium: Film Video
Artist: Federico Solmi
Confronting Bodies: Local judge named Bruno Giangiacomo
Date of Action: January 2009
Specific Location: Arte Fiera in Bologna
Description of Artwork: The hand-drawn animation is set in "Vatic-Anal-City" in the year 2046
and portrays the exploits of a fictional pope who is addicted to pornography. A number of related
objects accompany the piece, including a crucifix that features Solmi as the pope character with a
large grin and an erection.
Description of Incident: New York-based Italian artist Federico Solmi is in trouble with the law after his work, The Evil Empire, was shown by Naples Not Gallery at the recent Arte Fiera Bologna art fair, Jan. 23-26, 2009. The project -- which was also seen at New York’s LMAK Projects, Mar. 20-Apr. 19, 2008, coinciding with the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the city -- consists of hand-drawn animation depicting the exploits of a fictional pope in "Vatic-Anal-City," in the year 2046, wrestling with a porn addiction. It is accompanied by related objects, including one -- a crucifix featuring a self-portrait of the artist as the Pope character, with a massive, crimson-headed erection -- that apparently got him in trouble. According to reports, on the last day of the fair, a local judge named Bruno Giangiacomo got wind of the provocative art project, and ordered that it be confiscated.
Results of Incident: Catherine Thompson of LMAK reports that the artist was charged with religious offense and obscenity -- though the "religious offense" charge has since been dropped. Manuela Esposito, director of the Not Gallery, may also face charges.
Source: http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/news/artnetnews/artnetnews2-26-09.asp and http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/30680/artist-charged-with-obscenity-over-pope-art/
Submitted By: Teresa Koberstein, NCAC
Privet vs. Public
Diana Zamora
http://www.whatsuppub.com/showArticle.asp?articleId=5828
“Private entities make their own policies, which in turn voids the bill of rights,”
Zamora continued.
“We’re all for First Amendment rights and displaying artistic freedom,”
Thomson said. She pointed out that First Amendment rights only apply
to government – not private entities like Simon’s malls.
“If it’s public property, that’s one thing,” Thomson said, “but we’re private property and so ultimately it’s the business owner’s decision.”
But Zamora hasn’t given up: “I would love to continue exhibiting at malls and commercial spaces; it’s an excellent method to turn people on to art.”
Confronting Bodies: Simon Property Group
Date of Action: Late June, 2008
Specific Location: El Paso, Texas, United States
Description of Artwork: Series of sociopolitical satire paintings by the two artists: one depicted a woman seductively placing the muzzle of a gun into another woman's mouth, another portrayed the iconic 'Welcome to Las Vegas' sign as reading "Welcome to Iraq" and dripping with blood.
Description of Incident: The artists agreed to display their works in an exhibit called "00 Zealot," to be shown in a clothing store located in Sunland Park Mall. Ten days after the exhibit opened, mall management demanded that Zamora and Rust remove their paintings, because the mall received complaints from customers that the paintings were "offensive." There was no written contract, but a verbal agreement between the artists, the store owner and mall management.
Results of Incident: All parties agree that the art is good. However, mall mangement has said it takes the complaints of customers very seriously and the decision to remove the works stands. The artists' First Amendment rights have not been violated, because the mall is private property. So, the owners retain the right to decide what is displayed there.
The Vienna Actionists
http://www.freewebs.com/vienna-actionists/actionsalbum.html
http://www.ubu.com/film/vienna_actionists.html
Artur Zmijewski
http://www.culture.pl/en/culture/artykuly/os_zmijewski_artur
Is art censorship still active?
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