Okay, so I haven't posted recently but fuck it, it's my blog and I'll do what I want to. I have a life, believe it or not.
Now, onto not so cool things.
So, I started to write this post so long ago that it seems to have lost all relevance, but I want to finish it anyway.
For those of you who haven't been bothered scrolling down and reading my other posts, I'm a year 12 art/photography student. As a photography student, part of my study is Australian Contemporary photographers, one of which was Bill Henson.Not familiar with his name? You must be living somewhere other than Australia - helloooo to my international reader(s?)!
The following is taken from an assignment I wrote on contemporary Australian photography
Bill Henson is an Australian contemporary photographer who is interested in exploring opposites, like the relationship between light and shadow, man and woman, nature and suburbia. Some of his most acclaimed photographs explore Teenagers. The fragility of being childlike, yet almost adult at the same time, curiously balanced between the two comes up again and again throughout his work.
He achieves the high impact of his photos by editing his not on computer, but in the darkroom. He uses a huge space to create images with a giant enlarger on rails, which he uses to expose different parts of the paper and create a noticeable contrast between light and dark.
Henson has a very ‘loose’ style, in that he will set up a scenario, then take roll after roll of colour negative film on a 35mm camera to find the perfect shot. Because he takes and works with so many different images, they are most often untitled.
As a result, the pictures are muted and almost look as if they have been painted (which, in some ways they have, given Henson’s darkroom technique) and have a faded quality, rather than the sharp lines we are used to when viewing photographs.
Henson seems to capture random “snapshots” in time to explore issues in our society while creating images that are aesthetically amazing, haunting and beautiful all at once.
So, hows the coincidence when, a mere matter of weeks after we finish much detailed study of Henson's work, I wake up one morning and hear a news report on Triple J saying that the latest Bill Henson exhibition and the Roslyn Oxly9 gallery in NSW has had several images removed, pending a police investigation. All charges were subsequently dropped, however the rioting in the streets, pitchfork brandishing and flaming bags of poop on the Roslyn gallery remain, initiated by one bitchface queen cowmother Hetty Johnston.
It should be noted at this point that I hate it when people make assumptions and spout out ill informed opinions, when they are not in possession of all the facts. To quote Jane Austin, "It makes me most vexed!" I also tend to tear into these people as often as possible, and I also hate hypocrites, so I made sure I researched this issue as much as possible.
So, for all three of you that give a damn, this is the way I see it:
We live in a society where people think nudity = sex, therefore naked children= exploitation = Paedophile!! Kill it!!!! To arms with pitchforks and torches, everyone!!
However, because I can't be arsed writing a huge rant about it I'm going to get straight to the point: Nudity does not always mean sex, and children are not always exploited (pay attention Hetty Johnston, I know you're out there!). Bill Henson is a professional - first of all he asks permission from the teenagers involved and their parents, and there is no pressure, and the models are not made to feel uncomfortable.
Furthermore, the photo's have no sexual charge to them. Yes, this display of submissiveness from the subject could be a turn on for a pedophile, but one could argue that anyone that even considers this conclusion could be a paedophile in the making (Hey, if you conservatives can jump to strange and messed up conclusions, so can I). Not only that, but pedophiles will get their fix anywhere they can, and most of the time it makes no difference weather or not the child is fully clothed.
Another factor pissing me off is that some people are saying, "so they had permission from their parents and gave their own consent! They're only thirteen, they can't possibly comprehend what they're getting into!"
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Shows how much they know, doesn't it?
I know people who lost their virginity at thirteen. There are thirteen year olds at my school who drink and smoke on a regular basis.
They're not kids any more, and thirteen year olds are capable of making their own decisions.
One should also note, that these artworks are beautiful, and are beautiful to the people who made them. These 'children' as you call them had nothing to be ashamed of, and yet when people like Hetty Bitchface Johnson start telling everyone that this is indecent and that what they did was wrong... that's when they feel violated and dirty. They felt fine about the artwork before, even proud, but the damage caused by conservative groups to their self esteem may be irreparable.
Finally, I researched Hetty Johnson. One would think that all of her harping and bitching may be the cause of some sort of insight..... not so.
Johnson has no qualifications or background in the field of child psychology, or even art. She is, however, an ex politician. One could even say "failed" politician.
So why is she so vocal?
She recently released an autobiography... and its not selling very well at all. In fact, its barely registering on peoples radar.
I suppose that now all charges have been dropped, we can celebrate.
Hey Hetty... just FYI, you may have muddied Henson's name, but more people are viewing his exhibitions than ever before... and your book still isn't selling.
Is that hard to swallow? Yeah... Ill bet it is.
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Anyway, I might post more tomorrow. I'm holidays for the next week, so if something tickles my fancy, you'll know about it. :-)
Lou
