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| "India Rising -- the Lost" oil on acrylic background |
Artists like to talk about passion and freedom of expression, but what if your
hands were tied, literally. What if every brush stroke, each swathe of color,
and every word you spoke was censored and shaped for you by the ruling body,
the government or the proletariat?
How would you
like to serve jail time or worse for breaking the rules or being accused of sabotage or treason? In many countries this is what happens to those who
dare to speak out against their leaders through their work. They face
suppression, ridicule, subordination and sometimes exile.
According to
the National Art Education Association (NAEA) “The freedom to create and to
experience works of art is essential to our democracy. At present this freedom
is under attack. Private groups and public leaders in various parts of the
nation are attempting to remove certain artworks from public display, to censor
exhibitions, to label particular works as “controversial”, and to identify some
artworks and artists as “objectionable”. These actions arise from a view that
censorship is needed in order to avoid the subversion of politics and the
corruption of morals.
“Moreover, it
is not only artworks that are being subjected to efforts at suppression. These
efforts are related to a larger pattern of pressure being brought against
education, the press, film, and television. It is important to note that even
when such efforts do not actually suppress particular types of expression, they
cast a shadow of fear which leads to voluntary curtailment of expression by
those who seek to avoid controversy. The arts cannot thrive in such a climate
of fear.
“Freedom of
expression is guaranteed by the Constitution. This freedom of expression
includes both verbal expression—speech and writing; and non-verbal expression,
which includes the “language” of the various arts. Free communication is
essential to the preservation of a free society and a creative culture.
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| "Prayer Circles" oil on acrylic background |
“Now, as
always in our history, artworks—literature, theatre, painting, sculpture, music,
and dance, are among our most effective instruments of freedom. They are
powerful means for making available ideas, feelings, and social growth, the
envisioning of new possibilities for humankind, solutions to problems, and the
improvement of human life.
“On the other hand, suppression of ideas and
of artistic expression leads to conformity, the limiting of diversity of
expression to a narrow range of "acceptable" forms, and the stifling
of freedom."
The NAEA’s
declaration continues:
“As art
educators in a free society, we confirm the following:
- Freedom of expression in the arts must be preserved.
- The individual has the right to accept or reject any work of art for himself or herself personally, but does not have the right to suppress those works of art to which he or she may object or those artists with whom he or she does not agree.
- The free individual and the free society do not need a censor to tell what should be acceptable or unacceptable, and should not tolerate such censorship. All censorship is contrary to democratic principles.
- It is the duty of the art educator to confront students with a diversity of art experiences and to enable students to think critically. The art educator need not like or endorse all images, ideologies, and artists he or she makes available to students, but should allow the individual student to choose from among widely conflicting images, opinions, and ideologies. While some works of art may indeed be banal and trivial, and some works may be repugnant and unacceptable to some individuals, the art educator should insist upon the right of every individual to freely express and create in his or her own way and to experience, accept, or reject any particular work of art.
- The art educator should impress upon students the vital importance of freedom of expression as a basic premise in the free democratic society and urge students to guard against any efforts to limit or curtail that freedom.”
Adoption: Adopted by the National Art Education Association Board of Directors Motion #17, September, 1991
Communist
countries, dictatorships, or religious or police states regularly interfere with
the rights of free expression and seek to enforce their dogma on all avenues of
expression.
Freedom is not just a fancy word ….it is a
precious gift that must be preserved, respected, and fought for at all costs. Check out the link below for famous Middle-Eastern painters.
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