From: nobody@REPLAY.COM (Anonymous)
Date: Sat, 9 Mar 1996 20:15:59 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Artist self censorship (Was Chinese net-censorship) Noise
Message-ID: <199603091145.MAA24434@utopia.hacktic.nl>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


Excerpts from internet.cypherpunks: 8-Mar-96 Re: U.S. State Dept
critici.. by JFA T. QC, Canada@citene & later Declan B. McCullagh.
 
>> There is no such thing as "self-censorship".  Either you stick to 
>> your values, and then it is *not* censorship, or then you do not,
>> and then, it is neither.

>Self-censorship does happen, and it's a growing problem in the arts
>community. (I'm not a commercial artist, so this is my understanding
>from other panelists and speakers at a conference I spoke at last month.)

>Making art more palatable or less "extreme" to curry favor with
>corporate patrons, or to get that NEA grant, or to get that faculty
>position is self-censorship, and it does happen.

There is a photographer by the name of Jock Sturgis who is famous for
his photographs of naturalists and their children on the beaches of California
and France.  Sturgis' home was raided by the FBI and all of his photographs,
equipment, & records were seized under suspicion of producing child pornography

The photo equipment, records, and photographs were returned but not after 
making Sturgis' life a living hell...

Sturgis' work which has critical acclaim throughout art circles and has
published
two books profiling naturalists, has been quoted to saying that before taking
a picture he usually asks himself about how this picture is percived, something
the he never thought twice before the FBI raid.

Mr. Avon should think twice before commenting on self censorship does not
exist, for that could be the difference from having the door kicked in by the
black ninja turtles with the FBI or toning down your work.

--