For decades, art has been utilised as a tool to engineer social and political change. That this tool would find its way into Australian high schools is not unexpected. Emma Young’s article, ‘Governor Stirling High School bans student's gay art of American footballer’ published on September 30th 2015 in WA Today endeavours to position the audience to view the principal who banned a student’s art in a softly negative light and by nature, is implicitly biased towards the students. However, in doing this, the article omits insight into the ban, itself, through questionable representation; it also marginalises the principal’s voice. The article achieves this through the employment of techniques such as image, caption and headline construction; the order and …show more content…
The use of the term ‘bans student’s gay art’ attacks the school and presents them as slightly homophobic. The journalists’ choice to portray the entire school as the antagonist in the title, instead of the principal alone, advantages the student by suggesting that he is the underdog against an entire schooling community. The by-line positions the reader to view the student positively again as the statement “Students protest artwork ban” suggests that the students are fighting to rectify an injustice. The missing context on the type of artwork, as well as the open interpretation of the number of students provides less validity to the students’ plight. The two photographs are suggestively positive in their representation of the students opposing of the ban, a common feature throughout the article. In the first image, the controversial artwork is presented as a large statement piece in the photograph; when in reality the bricks either side of the work suggest that the artwork is in fact miniscule. This allows readers to see the work and make their own interpretation on the validity of the
Aboriginal art is widely associated with the primitive and primordial nature of the Australian Indigenous culture. However, as it has become more popular globally, one must consider the authenticity of the Aboriginal art sold on the contemporary market. Eric Michaels essay, ‘Bad Aboriginal Art’ (Michaels, 1988) exposes his concerns with how we define certain art as being genuinely ‘Aboriginal’ and questions what external influences exploit and influence the validity and authenticity of Aboriginal art. The essay summons readers to question what they identify with Australian culture and whether or not White Australians have disordered the meaning of Indigenous art.
The Atlantic’s article “Rewriting Art History” by Jacoba Urist, discussed the change of the AP course, art history, to revise the racial and cultural bias’ found in the art world. The author elucidates the racial divide in AP art history is caused by the lack of significant cultural artworks. The College Board held a meeting to ration the art history curriculum, instead of a largely Eurocentric focus, but target on more substantial art cultures. This leaves more opportunity for teachers to discuss the “definition of art, how it changes, and why particular artworks acquire meaning”, all subjects that are required by higher college courses. Jacoba Urist reminds the reader women and colored artists aren’t usually in history
Unbeknownst to many students in my generation, mounting hostility towards public arts funding also marked the cultural and political climate of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Debates had escalated over a number of National Endowment for the Arts grants, targeted at artists who violated sexual and cultural norms in their art, whether it was in painting, oral performance, writing, or photography. Most famous of these NEA outlaws was gay photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, whose photographs became the center of a national debate over the function of art, who should fund it, what is considered obscene and, as Laurie Anderson states, “the issue of control…and who controls what.
The debates at Polly’s have continued with speeches from three members of the Labor Faction, Big Bill Haywood, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, and Leah Schwartz. This debate was more lively than the last; it seems that the members of the audience were more involved during this debate – bringing up their own beliefs and concerns, asking questions, and even challenging some of the ideas brought up by the speakers. During this debate, the members of the Labor Faction also demonstrated the importance of art, both in life and in movements. Big Bill spoke of art’s ability to maintain humanity while Elizabeth Flynn actually used art in her speech, which seemed to make her speech more impactful since it is the arts that truly engage our minds and souls.
As the book was published and the general public began to read it; different opinions on the book started to come to fruition. “ The controversy began in March 1976 when the chair of the Long Island School Board, Richard J Ahrens, … ordered 60 books to be removed form the Island Tress School District High School Library.”(Nicholas 48). This appears to have caused many individuals and groups great concern. Their concerns mostly appear to be from rights violations. In 1979 a U.S. district court judge ruled that school boards have the right to determine the “suitability” of the content of library materials. Ultimately the courts became involved due to continued disagreements between the school board and those against the banning of the book.
Threw out the article judy blmue wrote about censorship a personal view she takes her readers on journey threw her eyes and makes them hop in her shoes to take a test drive threw her life and show her ins and outs of how she experience and dealt with censorship , with coming in contact ,learning ,and rebelling against it. She does in her article by using some clever yet effective ways of using the Rhetorical Strategies to get the reader to think a certain way and feel a certain way. Jude blume use the rhetorical strategies ethos, pathos, and logos to effectively persuade the reader and inform the reader that censorship is not up to a group of people but a personal choice.
Throughout time and still today there are still people and communities who destroy and censor books or any other publications that might seem offensive or vulgar in any way. Censorship is any restriction or removal from the public of information or publications, or the prevention of free expression. In the past the world has always had issues with censorship and the restriction of releasing certain information or published articles within any age group or school district. It will not matter what year it is, or how old you are or what grade or the education you have, there will always be problems with censorship in schools.
According to Marcel Proust, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” GOMA’s captivating exhibition Creative Generation achieves this, where viewers enter the space with knowledge and certainty and leave with unanswered questions. This exhibition comprises the artworks of Queensland senior students, displaying a variety of allegorical meanings and media ranging from film to sculptural pieces. Despite the diversity of this exhibition, Creative Generation explores the themes of childhood, home and identity; human experience, religion and beliefs; and environmental and societal commentary through the eyes of Australia’s youth (https://theweekendedition.com.au/events/creative-generation-excellence-awards-in-visual-art/)
Censorship in Schools There has recently been a renewed interest and passion in the issue of censorship. In the realm of the censorship of books in schools alone, several hundred cases have surfaced each year for nearly the past decade. Controversies over which books to include in the high school English curriculum present a clash of values between teachers, school systems, and parents over what is appropriate for and meaningful to students. It is important to strike a balance between English that is meaningful to students by relating to their lives and representing diversity and satisfying worries about the appropriateness of what is read.
The combination of words and images in contemporary art production is an extremely useful and powerful vehicle for artists to use in order to express their messages. The text can either support the image or contradict the image in order to demonstrate the transparency of either or both elements. Two artists who combine both image and text in their art are well known Australian and New Zealander contemporary artists, Gordon Bennett and Colin Mccahon. “Personal Narratives” is a must see exhibition as it displays Bennett’s and Mccahon’s clever use of both image and text to convey personal narratives. Gordon Bennet is an Aboriginal Australian who uses text to communicate personal issues of racism, Colin Mccahon is an artist from New Zealand who uses text to convey________. These artists have powerful messages to communicate and are doing it in a highly urbane and strong way.
In general, when people hear the word art, they envision an artist painting on a canvas. Likewise, when people hear the word activism, they imagine loud protest in the streets. If the two words are put together, we have a topic that society knows little about. Art activism has been a silent but powerful voice for countless political clashes, human rights, animal rights, and social change throughout the years. It has taught tolerance and compassion towards countless issues the general public chooses to turn a blind eye to. As a result, this form of activism has opened the door for activist to reach their targeted audience in a more creative nature and through a multitude of creative expressions.
Censorship in School Libraries The most debatable and controversial form of censorship today is the banning of books in school libraries. Banning books that educate students is wrong and selfish. Censorship of books in school libraries is neither uncommon nor an issue of the past. Books with artistic and cultural worth are still challenged constantly by those who want to control what others read. The roots of bigotry and illiteracy that fuel efforts to censor books and free expression are unacceptable and unconditional.
Many believe that our mind is the source of our freedom. We see this in Azar Nafisi’s “Selections of Lolita in Tehran,” Cathy Davidson’s “Project Classroom Makeover,” and Maggie Nelson’s “Great to Watch.” Nafisi creates a world of color to escape from the darkness of the society she lives in. Davidson tries to resist standard education. Nelson discusses avant-garde artists use cruelty as a way to rebel against banality. But people are surrounded by fences that limit their individuality. The mind is not enough to overcome the environment to create freedom.
Sigman, Aric. “What Children Need Is Censorship.” The Guardian. N.P., 11 Nov. 2008. Web 21 Apr. 2015.
Witherbee, A. (2013). Counterpoint: Education, the Masses, and Art. Points Of View: Arts Funding, 6. Retrieved April 19,2014 , from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=12421040&site=pov-live