Censorship Surrounding September 11th

4 Pages 1094 Words

Listen up maggots; you are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake.”
–Fight Club-

The September 11th attack on America has revolutionized the world’s understanding of visual culture.

Society has been trying to label art forever. Censorship of art is a conflict that affects everyone, whether it be the artist themselves, the viewers, or nonviewers. Drawing the line between what is and isn’t considered art is a difficult task. The continual debate over modern art is a futile task because the definition of art is so individual. I believe as long as the art has some semblance of meaning, intention, idea or thought behind it, it merits it as being labeled as art. There are many people wrongly labeled as artists who create purely for financial gain or stature. This is detrimental to the integrity of other artists who serve their purpose in the art world purely because of the passion for their work.

The censorship of art surrounding the attack on America September 11th disturbs me. The media’s cap on releasing any images surrounding the event especially images of the World Trade Center whether in advertising, movies or any element of visual culture is a limit on potential and creativity. The reactions of artists expressing their feelings concerning the event deserve to be shown. Not seeing the images is not going to lessen the severity of the situation at hand or make it go away. Perhaps the government believes by shielding the public from this part of visual culture, it will protect them. This principle of farther from the eye farther from the mind does not apply here. In fact, it might even prove to be the opposite effect and help people deal with the situation more readily.

These ideas of labeling and censorship in dealing with the September 11th attacks tie into my own work. At a recent show I had in a friend’s home, a friend of my aunt’s asked me what an appropriate offer fo...