Bill Henson - it’s NOT porn! Yay!
Following on from a previous post… which I wrote when I first heard about the debate regarding some of the work by famed photographer Bill Henson, today this news broke regarding a decision over the questioned photographs.
IT’S official. The naked girl that sparked the Bill Henson fuss is not porn. The sight of her on an invitation to the photographer’s Sydney exhibition a couple of weeks ago provoked shock and outrage, but the Classifications Board has now declared the picture “mild” and safe for many children.
It is believed the Director of Public Prosecutions is on the verge of advising NSW police that any prosecution of Henson would be unlikely to succeed.
The case against Henson appears close to collapse.
The Classification Board, under its new chief, former head of the ABC Donald McDonald, has now given the young girl on the invitation the rating PG.
Considered one of the most confronting in the Henson exhibition, the picture came to the board for classification when it was discovered in a blog discussing pornography and the sexualisation of children. But the classifiers found the “image of breast nudity … creates a viewing impact that is mild and justified by context … and is not sexualised to any degree”.
I think it’s a safe bet to say I’m bloody happy about this!
June 9th, 2008 at 2:28 am
Good news indeed.
I looked up some of B.H.’s work on the internet and have to say I was blown away! I hadn’t heard of him before (I guess he’s not as well known here in the states, not that I know every artist here either), and seeing more examples of his work put the contested one in context for me.
Definately not porn. Sort of anti-porn, if you ask me. Sad and strange and beautiful. Thanks for the introduction. Hope you’re feeling a bit more calm this week.
June 10th, 2008 at 5:06 am
I hadn’t heard of him until I first arrived in Australia. Some years ago now there was a fantastic exhibition of his work at the NGV (National Gallery of Victoria) which delved into and showcased his work across several decades. A fantastic exhibition and since then he has been one of my favourite photographers.
Glad you looked up his work and liked it, I was so happy when I heard the news about the decision re: this particular set of photos.
Still scaling and dropping the heights of the mixed episode but doing my best to keep it all in check :)