Do You Think Art Should Be Censored in Public Schools?
On May 7, 1918, onetime president Theodore Roosevelt wrote in an op-ed piece in The Kansas City Star, "To announce that in that location must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand up by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, just is morally treasonable to the American public." Bold words intended to support the need to critique the systems and individuals in power in this state. Yet few cultural or creative-based educational institutions support this blazon of straight critique of the presidency. For many, at that place is a fearfulness of running afoul of IRS regulations for nonprofit organizations that prohibit interest in political activity. They are wary of upsetting a donor or alumni base or of being targeted by an barrage of vitriolic social media posts which could damage an institution'due south reputation. Cultural institutions accept wanted it to be someone else's trouble. On July 18, 2018, the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at the George Washington University made supporting this blazon of critique of power our problem.
Like many, I was deeply dismayed this past June when I read the op-ed piece in the Washington Post about the Pulitzer Prize winning political cartoonist, Rob Rogers, who was fired from his position at the Pittsburgh Postal service Gazette and whose concluding xviii political cartoons were unpublished past the paper all considering his work has been highly critical of this current administration. Subsequently, I contacted Rob Rogers and invited him to exhibit his unpublished cartoons at the Corcoran.
The exhibition, Spiked: The Unpublished Political Cartoons of Rob Rogers, represents a strange intersection for freedom of printing in this country. This exhibition should have never happened. Rob Rogers should have been producing his piece of work at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette equally he has done for the terminal 25 years and we should have historic or critiqued or ignored information technology equally each one of us sees fit. Yet hither we are.
This begs the question as to why should the Corcoran footstep in and show this piece of work? Is information technology because the Corcoran has had an uncomfortable history with censorship with the infamous cancellation of Robert Mapplethorpe's work some xxx years ago? Or because of our location two buildings away from the White House? While these both weigh in every bit factors, the main reason is because as an institution defended to educating the next generation of cultural leaders, it is imperative that nosotros conspicuously support the dialogues and works that critique our leaders and our government, and that we support creative expression and artistic freedom. The motivation for me is that I need to exist able to wait our students in the eyes and say we accept done all that nosotros can in ensuring their world is not eclipsed by censorship or other forms of repression of creativity. Remaining silent is not an option for the Corcoran, as information technology but condones the increasingly insidious and repressive measures we see being enacted on those who voice criticism or dissent and the institutions who support them. It is time for cultural institutions to encompass the obligation they take to support the essential freedom of expressing dissent.
Showing Rob Rogers' work is inherently a teachable moment. His work has tremendous educational value to our students past speaking to the skills of technical virtuosity, iteration, perseverance and creative methodologies on how to critique power. By showing his original piece of work alongside his process sketches and his larger, colour-saturated, digitized work, we have the ability to see more than than his unpublished cartoons; we gain keen insight into his do. We can more clearly sympathize that these works are the result of decades of persistent practice.
Artists have ever been at the forefront of cultural and institutional critique. We produce work intended to make u.s.a. think; information technology can sometimes brand us feel uncomfortable, only it provides searing commentary on the way the earth operates.
It is clear that Rob Rogers exemplifies the thought of an "American genius" that the Corcoran was founded on. It is our duty to provide our students with the ability to witness the powerful intersection between creative genius, social critique, satire, humour and our darkest selves. Our purpose is to cultivate creativity, provide insight and demonstrate the urgent need to critique and change systems around us. In the end, there was never a question of whether or not we should show Rob Rogers' censored work. The question became how we tin provide an example so that other institutions tin can feel emboldened to brand similar decisions by pushing boundaries. My hope is that they balance their fears of interim confronting the fears of witnessing these essential liberties beingness chiseled away, knowing that they could have done something about it.
Image in a higher place shows people viewing Rogers' work at the opening nighttime reception of the "Spiked: the Unpublished Political Cartoons of Rob Rogers" exhibit.
Source: https://corcoran.gwu.edu/why-art-school-took-stand-against-censorship-and-more-should
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