Shutterbuggery.THE MAPPLETHORPE uproar roars on, even though the controversial photo exhibit, which includes plenty of explicit perversity per·ver·si·ty n. pl. per·ver·si·ties 1. The quality or state of being perverse. 2. An instance of being perverse. Noun 1. , has been removed from its scheduled site (see "On the Scene," Aug. 4] to a small gallery under purely private auspices. The predictable cries of censorship are ringing off the Capitol walls, and everyone from George Will to The Village Voice has been sneering at the philistinism of Jesse Helms for introducing a measure to deny federal funding to filthy art. The funny thing is, Helms is right. The monster from North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. seems to be the only public figure who truly appreciates Robert Mapplethorpe's art. It has fallen to him to point out not only that the Emperor is wearing no clothes but that he is performing unnatural acts. To say this is not to disparage dis·par·age tr.v. dis·par·aged, dis·par·ag·ing, dis·par·ag·es 1. To speak of in a slighting or disrespectful way; belittle. See Synonyms at decry. 2. To reduce in esteem or rank. Mapplethorpe's art but to specify it. That Mapplethorpe (who died of AIDS in March) was wondrously gifted is undeniable. His arresting portraits of clothed clothe tr.v. clothed or clad , cloth·ing, clothes 1. To put clothes on; dress. 2. To provide clothes for. 3. To cover as if with clothing. people and his subtly gorgeous still-lifes would have made his reputation, if not quite as many headlines, without benefit of sodomy sodomy Noncoital carnal copulation. Sodomy is a crime in some jurisdictions. Some sodomy laws, particularly in Middle Eastern countries and those jurisdictions observing Shari'ah law, provide penalties as severe as life imprisonment for homosexual intercourse, even if the . But it was intrinsic to Mapplethorpe's art to try to aestheticize aes·thet·i·cize also es·thet·i·cize tr.v. aes·thet·i·cized, aes·thet·i·ciz·ing, aes·thet·i·ciz·es To depict in an idealized or artistic manner: the obscene. He deliberately chose subjects that shock the normal sense of decency and displayed them for the sake of their abstract form. He counted on and exploited the dual reaction to create tension in the viewer: what is indecent and immoral becomes stunningly beautiful. And, thus, especially disturbing. But to pretend the obscenity isn't there-that it exists only in the dirty mind of Jesse Helms-is as false to the pictures as to deny their beauty. Some of the acts Mapplethorpe photographs would cause comment at a hairdressers' convention. Which is simply to say, we have a right to be shocked when someone tries to shock us. But is it art? Yes, yes, it's art, maybe great artand so what? Great artistry may be used immorally, just as a saintly artist may produce banality. There is no strict correlation between the moral and the aesthetic, and there is no need for morality to grovel 1. grovel - To work interminably and without apparent progress. Often used transitively with "over" or "through". "The file scavenger has been groveling through the /usr directories for 10 minutes now." Compare grind and crunch. Emphatic form: "grovel obscenely". 2. before the claims of Art. Anyone who wants to subsidize a Mapplethorpe is free to. The public should be free not to. |
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