Reflection: Art Censorship Visual & Performing Arts Essay (Essay Sample)

Reflection: Art Censorship
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Reflection: Art Censorship
Censorship of art has been a major topic of debate for a long time. Governments and the media are often accused of controlling the view of society by deciding which forms of art should be displayed to the public. Piss Christ, a photograph by Andres Serrano, has been a subject of extreme controversy and self-censorship: aspects that have exposed the artist to excessive loss of revenue and life-threats. Many media outlets and exhibitions applied self-censorship against the artist’s work. The creation of art is a form of communication and artists should be accorded the same freedom of speech rights as other mediums of communication. However, with freedom comes high responsibility and art creators should ensure that in the process of communicating their ideas, they do not infringe on the freedoms of other people in the society. Bill Donohue, a critic of Serrano’s work, states that artists should be ethical enough not to insult people of faith in their work (as cited in Holpuch, 2012).