Page 16 - Studio International - November 1966

Censorship, obscenity and context

Comment by Jasia Reichardt

`What is pornography to one man is the Apart from Dine, there are three other fairly offence against section two of this Act, and
laughter of genius to another.' topical cases which are worth mentioning. an order for forfeiture shall not be made
D. H. Lawrence The Aubrey Beardsley prints which were under the foregoing section, if it is proved
In September 1966 Jim Dine's ambivalent sold in a London bookshop at the time of that publication of the article in question
relationship with London came to a strange the Beardsley exhibition at the VICTORIA is justified as being for the public good on
climax. A number of his drawings and AND ALBERT MUSEUM; the exhibition of the ground that it is in the interests of
collages, some which were done in paintings by Stass Paraskos called Lovers and science, literature, art or learning, or of
collaboration with Paolozzi, were removed Romances at LEEDS INSTITUTE GALLERY; and other objects of general concern.
by the police from his exhibition at the the Happening by Hermann Nitsch of the (2) It is hereby declared that the opinion
ROBERT FRASER GALLERY, following a Vienna Institute for Direct Art which took of experts as to the literary, artistic,
complaint. The fact that these simplified, place as part of the Destruction in Art scientific or other merits of an article may
graffiti-like drawings, completely devoid Symposium at St Bride's Institute in be admitted in any proceedings under
of any erotic overtones, were confiscated, London in September. this Act either to establish or to negative
leads to speculation on the definition of Apart from the intervention of the law, the said ground.
obscenity and the sort of imagery that might these four manifestations have little in 5. (3) This Act shall not extend to
or might not give genuine offence to an common. What they share is their Scotland or to Northern Ireland.
audience. relationship to the Vagrancy Act of 1824
One cannot ignore two incongruous and l.838, which deals with suitable punish- Dine, Paraskos, Beardsley and Nitsch
coincidences—one, that the excellent preface ment for those making public exhibitions represent four fringe cases, since the
to the catalogue was an article by Father of indecent prints, which at the time of its `tendency to deprave or corrupt' is completely
Cyril Barrett, of which a version appeared enforcement might have meant three months irrelevant to the artist's intent or the
in Studio International; and, two, that the hard labour; and the Obscene Publications resulting work. The tendency to deprave
only clue to what might be considered Act 1959, amended 1964, which contains and corrupt is as hard to assess as the
obscene is not a visual image but a literary the following: tendency to be depraved and corrupted.
reference—a four-letter word meaning Besides, who has ever heard of anyone
vagina, accompanied by an arrow. It is Test of obscenity- convicted for a tendency alone to rob, murder,
doubtful whether there was anything 1. (1) For the purposes of this Act an assault or commit any other crime ?
in the drawings that would have given article shall be deemed to be obscene if its No one can decide or assess the quality of
rise to complaints if the word did not give effect or (where the article comprises two obscenity, only the literary or artistic merit
blatant expression to the content of the or more distinct items) the effect of any one of the work. Dine's phallic drawings could
picture. Noticeably not every exhibition of its items is, if taken as a whole, such as be described as ironic interpretations of
that includes drawings of genitals, realistic to tend to deprave and corrupt persons graffiti on lavatory walls; Beardsley's as
or otherwise, is raided; nor are there any who are likely, having regard to all relevant phantasies on a theme; and those of Paraskos
complaints where the various parts of the circumstances, to read, see or hear the as romantic scenes of common life depicted
body are identified in French (e.g. Larry matter contained or embodied in it. with a tenderness and touching simplicity
Rivers). The Jim Dine show was simply (2) In this Act 'article' means any in a primitive and most direct manner.
unlucky. In terms of art, the Dine collages description of article containing or With Hermann Nitsch the case is slightly
and drawings represent a fairly lightweight embodying matter to be read or looked at different because his Happening based on the
output of a talented artist, and because they or both, any sound record, and any film crucifixion of a carcass of a lamb has strong
are neither masterpieces nor works without or other record of a picture or pictures. sadomasochistic overtones. The Happening
any artistic merit, but somewhere between also involved film images of male genitals.
the two extremes, they constitute a good Defence of public good- The blood of the lamb which flowed freely
test case. 4. (1) A person shall not be convicted of an on the participants and audience and

Contributors to this issue T. G. Rosenthal, art critic of The Listener, is a fre- Mervyn Levy, sometime lecturer in art to the Extra-
quent broadcaster on the B.B.C. Third Programme. Mural Departments of the Universities of Bristol and
He is working on a monograph on Jack Yeats. London, has written monographs on L. S. Lowry and
Jasia Reichardt who contributes a monthly Comment
to Studio International, Is assistant director of the Edwin Mullins is an art critic for the Weekend Tele- Henri Gaudier-Brzeska. His book on Scottie Wilson
has been published by Brook Street Gallery.
Institute of Contemporary Arts.
graph and Sunday Telegraph, a member of the B.B.C.
panel of critics, and a contributor to various art Edward Lucie-Smith, poet and critic, contributes a
A. P. Carter qualified as a doctor at the Middlesex journals. His book on Alfred Wallis is to be pub- regular commentary to Studio International.
Hospital, where he now works. He also lectures in the lished next spring by Macdonald & Co. It will have 15
visual research department at Hornsey College of colour plates and 70 monochrome illustrations. Dore Ashton, the American writer and critic, writes
Art and is a visiting lecturer at Bath Academy of Art. regularly for Studio International.