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Axe d’étude 2 : L’art qui fait débat

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Art and controversy

Art has often sparked controversy. Books have been banned or censored. Artists have even, in some cases, been jailed and their works destroyed. Museums have had public funding withdrawn because exhibits were deemed offensive. Many artists throughout history have felt it essential to challenge society's norms and standards, thereby testing the limits of freedom of expression. 

Art historians point out that works, which were considered to be scandalous and caused a stir decades or centuries ago, no longer shock modern audiences. Artists who were once criticized are now universally acclaimed for having been able to think outside the box.

For example, nowadays no one disputes the literary merits of Lolita (1954) by Vladimir Nabokov. Yet, when it came out the novel was banned in several countries including Britain, France, Australia and other places.

J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951), which was hailed in The New Yorker magazine as a "brilliant, funny, meaningful" book is banned in many schools. Yet, today it is still a best seller.

In 1960, when Penguin Books tried to publish D. H. Lawrence's novel Lady Chatterley's Lover, which had been written in 1928, they were taken to court. They were charged with publishing an obscene book but eventually won the case and were allowed to sell the novel.

Tracey Emin's iconic work "My Bed" (1998), which was at first described by many critics as distasteful, recently sold for over $2 million.

Quotations

"No artist desires to prove anything. … No artist has ethical sympathies." The Preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) by Oscar Wilde.

"…a form of shock is to some degree, however small, present in most aesthetic experiences." The New York Times

"After all, isn't the role of the artist to create new perspectives through their artworks ?" Artland

"Indeed the message of Lady Chatterley's Lover, …, is that literature in itself does no harm at all. The damage that gets attributed to books – and to plays and movies and cartoons- is caused by the actions of people who try to suppress them." Geoffrey Roberston QC in The Guardian.

"Lolita is a study in seduction of many sorts, not least the seduction of art, which turns out to have no morality at all." The New York Times

Vocabulary

  • to ban: interdire

  • to censor: censurer

  • censorship: la censure

  • public funding: financements publics

  • to withdraw: retirer

  • an exhibit: une exposition

  • to deem: considérer

  • thereby: ainsi

  • to cause a stir: faire sensation

  • to be acclaimed: être reconnu

  • to think outside the box: sortir du cadre, des sentiers battus

  • to be hailed: être salué (par la critique)

  • to be taken to court: être poursuivi en justice

  • distasteful: de mauvais goût

  • to do harm: faire du mal, nuire

  • QC: Queen's Counsel: avocat expert de très haut niveau

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