RE: Bill Henson (No one will read this, but it's okay. I understand.)
RE: Bill Henson
Police quiz photographer over nude shots
Hi. Since I study photography and I was supposed to attend last night's Bill Henson exhibition opening, I am going to give my two cents on the matter... BECAUSE I CAN.
They sent out one of the controversial photos on the e-vite for the exhibition, so I guess I now have child porn on my computer. So does everyone else on the mailing list.
I don't think I have a problem with the photographs that have now been banned from the Henson exhibit. I don't think they're that offensive. For starters, they're being viewed in the wrong light. Yes, kids are sexualised to the max these days. Skimpy outfits, tweenagers and what have you. Whatever. I don't see Henson's work (or at least what i've seen of these risque images) as a reflection of this. It is more about innocence. Yes, the photographs are a little disturbing because they're DARK and we associate DARK with SINISTER. If you want to read it like that, think about what sinister means within the context of the image. No, it's not that the photographer is a pedophile. It's that people are looking at these photos and applying the label of "CHILD PORN" onto it. The viewer becomes the sinister one, because they're the one thinking of it in that way.
Our wimp of a prime minster (yes, he's a fucking wimp, but everyone else is useless too) was all "Let kids be kids" on the news, and to that I say fuck off. That's the whole point of the work. Children aren't being treated like children in society right now. They are dressing like small, freaky adults because advertising tells them that they should. That is not acceptable. The photographs in question just show young people. Alone. The way they stand is awkward. They're not overly confident, unlike the way media/advertising likes to portray children. THAT is kiddie porn. Not a photograph documenting adolescence at its purest form.
Do people honestly think that these images are more offensive than say, Miley Cyrus being a fucking underage whore? Because I find Hannah Montana a hell of a lot more offensive than what i've seen of these photographs. I do understand that the issue of naked photos of minors is very controversial for good reasons, and admittedly, i'm really not entirely sure about them being featured in a public exhibit, but laying down criminal charges just seems a little ridiculous to me. Artists exist to comment on society. To bring individual everyday issues to the surface when everyone else is so caught up with themselves that they fail to notice anything else unless it's shoved in their fat faces. If society wants to look at these images and say "OMG THIS IS CHILD PORN" perhaps it's not the artist who is sick. It's THEM.