Killing Two Birds with One Stone: An Information Literacy

Lesson in Art History and Censorship for Non-majors

Susan Bissonnette

Librarian for Information Literacy/Distance Learning

Herkimer County Community College

Herkimer, New York

bissonnse@herkimer.edu

OBJECTIVES:

• Evaluate information and its sources critically.

• Incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base.

• Understand the social issues surrounding the use of information.

Instructor’s Introduction• In 1993, I taught Introduction to the Humanities at a community college. When we

finally reached the 20th century at the end of the textbook, I asked my students to bring images from magazines that they believed represented their contemporary society. I then divided the students into groups and had them paste the images on poster boards. At the end of the class, I displayed the collages in each classroom and left them to allow the students to admire their own artwork (non-majors).

• The following class, we noticed white pieces of paper were attached to the collages to cover certain images. I took down the pieces of paper. The same thing occurred when we entered the room again.

• Later that week, I received a request to go down to the administrative offices. They asked me to take down the collages because some people found them offensive. I asked which ones and they mentioned the image of Jesus placed near two men embracing (taken from a condom poster).

• The student who added the image of Jesus told me she was devoutly religious, and the student who contributed the image of the men was a “rocker.” Neither one of them could understand how they had been censored. That, I told my students, was how it always was; censorship is never really about the work of art, but about the viewer.

Course Title: Information Literacy Syllabus: Week IV- Issues in Information

• Copyright

• Plagiarism

Censorship• Privacy

• Media Ethics

A Short Lesson in the Censorship of Art in the USA

• The following images are a sample of the lecture I give to college students who take my information literacy course. Certain images were not available to use in this presentation because I could not afford to pay the fee requested by the museums, estates and copyright holders of the original works. A very special thank you to the artists and organizations who freely contributed to this virtual poster session even though they are also in need of funding. This presentation is not intended for art or art history majors. Please do not copy the images or save them on to your computer. Thank you.

Information is often challenged by politics and religion, especially

art & images.Nazi Germany is a perfect example.

Entarte Kunst: Degenerate Art. California Polytechnic. 5 April 2007 <http://cla.calpoly.edu/~mriedlsp/History437/Art/Enarte%20Kunst.htm>

Surprisingly, the United States of Americais also an example.

"What is really at stake is whether or not America will allow the cultural high ground in this nation to sink slowly into an abyss of slime to placate people who clearly seek or are willing to destroy the Judaic-Christian foundations of this republic." (1990, on funding for the National Endowment for the

Arts) Jesse Helms, former U.S. Senator from

North Carolina

• Image: Scott, Dread. What is the Proper Way to Display a U.S. Flag? 1989. Dread Scott Homepage. 12 March 2007 <http://dreadscott.home.mindspring.com/whatis.html>

Constitution of the United States of America

• Bill of Rights

• Amendment ICongress shall make no law respecting an

establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Artists Censored or Challenged for Their Work in the USA

The following images have been at one time or another challenged or censored for various reasons. Please look closely. Try to guess why the artists' work is so controversial to some people. You will find the answers if you read the books, articles, or Web sites from the bibliography.

Image: WPA Art Project. Democracy… a challenge. 1936-40. Chicago, Illinois. Library of Congress. 5 April 2007. <http://memory.loc.gov>

Grant Wood

Haven, Janet. “Going Back to Iowa: The World of Grant Wood.” University of Virginia American Studies Program. 1998. 21 March 2007 <http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma98/haven/wood/home.html>

Image: WP Clipart. 27 April 2007. <http://www.wpclipart.com/imgpage.html?http://www.wpclipart.com/art/Paintings/American_Gothic__Grant_Wood.png>

Robert Frank

Sources:

Wood, Daniel B. “Frank Photography.” The Christian Science Monitor 21 August 1987: L1182. Lexis-Nexis. Herkimer County Community College Library. 1 Mar. 2007 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe>

Grundberg, Andy. “Photography View: A Show That Puts a Social Critic in a Larger context.” The New York Times 7 July 1985: L1217. Lexis-Nexis. Herkimer County Community College Library. 1 Mar. 2007 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe>

Image: Frank, Robert. Cafeteria--San Francisco. 1956. Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University 12 March 2007 <http://www.museum.cornell.edu/HFJ/handbook/hb198.html>

Roy Lichtenstein

Hall, David. “Roy Lichtenstein 1923-1997.” Art Monthly. 211 (1997): 10. Wilson Select. Firstsearch. 19 March 2007 <http://firstsearch.oclc.org>

Image Source: Yale University Art Gallery

Oil on canvas, 68 x 80 in. (172.7 x 203.2 cm)Gift of Richard Brown Baker, B.A. 19351995.32.9©Estate of Roy Lichtenstein

Image: Lichtenstein, Roy. Blam. 1962. Yale University Art Gallery. 21 March 2007.

<http://artgallery.yale.edu>

Edward Kienholz

Weschler, Lawrence. “The Subversive Art of Ed Kienholz.” Art News 83 September 1984, p.100 – 106.

Couvrette, Shelly. “Edward Kienholz: The State Hospital.” Cat Sidh. 2005. 15 March 2007 <www.cat-sidh.net/Writing/Kienholz.html>

Source: Kienholz, Edward. The State Hospital. 1966. Museet Moderna, Stockholm. 12 March 2007 <www.artchive.com/.../state_hospital_int.jpg.html>

Judy Chicago

The Dinner Party (1979) Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the

Elizabeth A. Sackler Center Foundation

© Judy Chicago

Image © Donald Woodman 

Image: Chicago, Judy. The Dinner Party. 1979. Brooklyn Museum. 10 March 2007. <http://www.throughtheflower.com> 

Courtesy of Through the Flower archives.

The National Endowment for the Artswww.nea.gov

“The National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965 established the National Endowment for the Arts and provided for 26 citizens to serve as advisors to the agency as members of the National Council on the Arts. Members are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate for six-year, staggered terms. In 1997, Congress enacted legislation that reduced the membership of the Council to 14 and required the appointment of an additional six members of Congress to serve in an ex officio, non-voting capacity for two-year terms.”

• National Endowment for the Arts. National Council on the Arts: History and Purpose. 14 March 2007 <http://www.nea.gov/about/NCA/About_NCA.html>

• Shiner, Larry. “When Outrage Meets Arrogance: Controversial Art and Public Funding.” Illinois Periodicals Online 25 (1990) Northern Illinois University Libraries. 19 March 2007 <http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/1990/ii900423.html>

Robert MapplethorpeMapplethorpe, Robert, Celant, Germano and

Arkady Ippolitov. Robert Mapplethorpe And The Classical Tradition: Photographs and Mannerist Prints, 2004.

Grundberg, Andy. “Blaming the Medium for the Message.” New York Times. 6 August 1989: L1. Lexis-Nexis. 3 March 2007 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe>

Image: Mapplethorpe, Robert. Forty Nudes. Munich: Schirmer/Mosel Publishing, 2007. <http://www.schirmer-mosel.de>

Andres SerranoPiss Christ, 1989

Serrano, Andres,  Hobbs, Robert Carleton and Wendy Steiner and Marcia Tucker. Andres Serrano: Works 1983-1993. Philadelphia: Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, 1994.

Grundberg, Andy. “Blaming the Medium for the Message.” New York Times. 6 August 1989. Lexis-Nexis. 3 March 2007 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe>

Image: Serrano, Andres. Piss Christ. 1987. Walter Otero Gallery. 12 February 2007 <http://www.artnet.com/artwork/424288434/423908876/andres-serrano-piss-christ.html>

Sally Mann

Photograph: Jessie at Fivegelatin silver print 19 5/8 in. x 23 3/4 in. (49.85 cm x 60.33 cm)

Collection SFMOMA Purchase 89.13 © Sally Mann

Woodward, Richard B. “The Disturbing Photography of Sally Mann.” New York Times. 27 September 1992. Lexis-Nexis. 21 March 2007 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/>

Source: Mann, Sally. Jessie at Five. 1987. San Francisco Museum of Art. 2 April 2007 <http://wwwsfmoma.org>

Kara WalkerImage: Scene of McPherson’s Death.

Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War, (Annotated), 2005Offset lithography and silkscreenPaper Size: 53 x 39 inchesImage Size: Approx. 38 x 32 inchesEdition of 35

Courtesy of Barbara Krakow Gallery.

“The Art of Kara Walker.” Walker Art Center. 15 March 2007 <http:learn.walkerart.org/karawalker/Main/AnnotatedResourceList>

Walker, Kara. Scene of McPherson’s Death. Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War. 2005. Barabara Krakow Gallery. 15 March 2007 <http://www.barbarakrakowgallery.com>

Art After 9/11/01

• Anderson, Kevin. “How Free is American Information?” BBC News World Edition. 5 January 2005. British Broadcasting Corporation. 17 March 2007 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4146307.stm>

Tim GloverEmpty Trellis, 2001

• Glover, Tim. GloverArt.com. Bissmeyer Computing. 25 June 2001. 1 April 2007

<http://www.gloverart.com>

• “Secret Wars.” DocArt.com. 21 September 2001. Art Car Museum. 1April 2007 <http://docart.com/exhibitions/SecretWars/exhibit.html>

Image: Glover, Tim. Empty Trellis (revisited) 1993-2000. 1 April 2007. <www.gloverart.com>

Cosimo Cavallaro

McShane, Larry. “Chocolate Jesus Show Canceled.” Associated Press. 30 March 2007. Yahoo.com. 31 March 2007<http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070330/ap_en_ot/chocolate_jesus>

Pesce, Nicole Lyn, and Gina Salamone. “Catholics Outraged by Chocolate Jesus.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 31 March 2007: A10. Lexis-Nexis. 2 April 2007 <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe>

Image: Cavallaro, Cosimo. My Sweet Lord. 2005-2007. Cosimo Cavallaro. 3 April 2007. <www.cosimocavallaro.com>

Topics for Discussion

• Why do you think images are censored?

• Do you believe the U.S. government has the right to censor images if some people oppose them?

• How would you feel if someone objected to something you did (essay you wrote, picture you took, Web site you made)?

Assignment

• Choose one image. Using the citations included on the slides, find an article on one of the Library’s databases.

• Print it out.

• Read the article.

• Respond to the article (write one page).

• Write your opinion (half page)

• All double-spaced. Write your name

Selected Bibliography• Atkins, Robert and Svetlana Mintcheva. Censoring Culture: Contemporary Threats to Free

Expression. New York: The New Press, 2006.

• Berry, Ian, Darby English, et al. Eds. Kara Walker: Narratives of a Negress. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2003.

• “Censorship in Camouflage: A Project about the Unexplored Aspects of Censorship.” National Coalition Against Censorship. Panel Discussion at the Vera List Center for Art and Politics, Summer 2002.

• Childs, Elizabeth C., Ed. Suspended License: Censorship and the Visual Arts. Washington, University of Washington Press, 1997.

• Dean, Jodi. “Virtual Fears.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. 24, no 4 (1999): 1069-1078.

• Dubin, Steven C. Arresting Images: Impolitic Art and Uncivil Actions. New York: Routledge, Chapman and Hall, 1992.

• Egendorf, Laura K. Censorship. Michigan: Greenhaven Press, 2003.

• Frank, Robert. The Americans. New York: Aperture, 1978.

• Goldberg, Vicki and Robert Silberman. American Photography: A Century of Images. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1999.

• Hughes, Robert. The Shock of the New. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991.

• Hull, Mary E. Censorship in America: A Reference Book. California: ABC CLIO, 1999.

Selected Bibliography (continued)• Hughes, Robert. The Shock of the New. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991.• Hull, Mary E. Censorship in America: A Reference Book. California: ABC CLIO,

1999.• Jacobson, Colin. Underexposed: “Pictures Can Lie and Liars Use Pictures.” London:

Vision on Publishing, 2002.• Mann, Sally. Immediate Family. New York: Aperture, 1992.• Meyer, Richard. “The Jesse Helms Theory of Art.” October. Spring 2003.• Rosenthal, Norman, Shone, Richard, Maloney, Martin, et al. Sensation: Young

British Artists from the Saatchi collection. London: Thames and Hudson, 1997.• Sackler, Elizabeth A., Ed. Judy Chicago. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications,

2002.• Senie, Harriet F. and Sally Webster, Eds. Critical Issues in Public Art: Content,

Context and Controversy. New York: HarperCollins, 1992.• Steiner, Wendy. The Scandal of Pleasure. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,

1995. • Varnedoe, Kirk, Antonelli, Paola and Joshua Siegel, Eds. Modern Contemporary: Art

at MOMA Since 1980. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2000.

Selected Web SitesChilling Effects of Anti-Terrorism

Chilling Effects of Anti-Terrorism. "National Security" Toll on Freedomof Expression. The right to free speech faces the strongest ...<www.eff.org/Censorship/Terrorism_militias/antiterrorism_chill.html >

Electronic Frontier Foundation working to protect civil and free speech rights regardless of technology, educating the public about civil liberties issues related to technology, and acting as a defender of those liberties. <www.eff.org/>

The Free Expression Policy Project Project is affiliated with The National Coalition Against Censorship. <www.fepproject.org/>

Hera Gallery Hera Gallery Founded in 1974 as an artists' cooperative gallery. <www.heragallery.org/>

National Endowment for the Arts U.S. Federal agency that awards grants to arts organizations and artists.<www.nea.gov/>

The “NEA Tapes.” (Paul Lamarre or Melissa Wolf eidia@rcn.com) <www.neatapes.com>

Art Car Museum (Houston, Texas) <www.artcarmuseum.com/secretwars.html>

THOMAS: Legislative Information on the Internet Service of the Library of Congress. To find United States Government documents. <thomas.loc.gov/>