Controversy at Wellesley College over art

[TerryMathews]

I'm sorry, but Dave McOwen in his natural state is not art.

 

[nehalem256]

You are basically the last person on planet earth that should be trying to talk about other people's gender issues.

I am not the one worried a statue is going to rape me🙄

 

[Lithium381]

<== off to do an image search on students posing with that. Should be, um, interesting.



As far as the OP's question... no. There is no right to not be offended.

tell that to 90% of americans . . .

 

[Drako]

I'm sorry, but Dave McOwen in his natural state is not art.

I'm pretty sure Dave is a lot fatter than that. :biggrin:

 

[IronWing]

tell that to 90% of americans . . .

I don't get it either. Being offended feels sooo good! There's nothing to compare to the exhilaration of rising indignation and self-righteousness. 😛

 

[HomerJS]

Well, the artist may have not thought this through,..

If it was a black dude - no one would dare try to bring it down (but, it would provide more sensationalism for people like the OP).

But, it would be covered in bullet holes.

If you are going to try that at least base it in some reality.

The real reason is some people don't want to see a dude in his tighty whities. You know the same crowd that objects to bikini babes serving coffee. Usually prudish conservatives.

 

[TerryMathews]

The real reason is some people don't want to see a dude in his tighty whities. You know the same crowd that objects to bikini babes serving coffee. Usually prudish conservatives.

What about those of us who love getting coffee served by bikini babes but dont want to see tightie whitie dude?

 

[zinfamous]

so I could shit in my hand, smear it on my naked body, and then walk through campus and as long as I call it "art", its ok?

Of course.

and why not?

 

[HomerJS]

Have a problem with this? Check out the spaghettios performance art.

NSFW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9lmvX00TLY

 

[WelshBloke]

Everyone has a right to dislike it. So what?

Dude it's not PC to force people to look at stuff they might dislike. They might get all... ummm... thoughtful?

Can't have that happening in a college.

 

[OutHouse]

Have a problem with this? Check out the spaghettios performance art.

NSFW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9lmvX00TLY

besides from being one of the most retarded things I have ever watched on youtube, why are the spaghettios black?

 

[werepossum]

I find that a college that bases so much of its ethos on the free expression of ideas should learn to accept some uncomfortable things of its own. That being said, I have a number of friends who went there and they said that it is placed in an area that can't easily be avoided for those who sincerely do have issues.

To me, the statue should most certainly not be removed from the campus, but moving it inside the museum it is right outside of might be a good compromise.

Yeah, 'cause it looks like it's cold.

 

[werepossum]

If I was driving down the road and saw a super-lifelike statue of a man in his underwear who looks like he's in distress, it would probably produce some anxiety in me also. Because that's what great art does, it causes you to immediately call 911 because you're worried a mentally unstable mostly naked man is going to walk out into traffic if he doesn't get hypothermic first.

LOL I agree that near the road is not smart placement.

Well, the artist may have not thought this through,..

If it was a black dude - no one would dare try to bring it down (but, it would provide more sensationalism for people like the OP).

But, it would be covered in bullet holes.

LOL No doubt.

He was coming right at me, officer!

Hey, at least someone bothered to make something identifiable, which puts him or her above 99% of such "artists" who merely weld a bunch of crap into a pile and call it art. This meets the Werepossum art criteria test: I could not duplicate it.

 

[boomerang]

Yeah, 'cause it looks like it's cold.

You detected shrinkage?

 

[Drako]

Have a problem with this? Check out the spaghettios performance art.

NSFW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9lmvX00TLY

She needs lessons in using a can opener, among other things. :biggrin:

 

[BUnit1701]

I'm guessing that a person could hold a "mid-stride walking" pose a lot longer than a "suspended upside down above the ground" pose. Ya know, the whole gravity thing and all.

You just don't use enough starch in your shirts. 😛

 

[werepossum]

You detected shrinkage?

LOL Um, no, I didn't check out his junk. Just the snow on his head.

Have a problem with this? Check out the spaghettios performance art.

NSFW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9lmvX00TLY

Jesus wept.

Remember kiddies, without your tax dollars this brave young junkie may not be able to afford to keep doing her "art". This nation's bourgeoisie art market sadly undervalues piss and spoiled food painting.

She needs lessons in using a can opener, among other things. :biggrin:

😀 No doubt. That and a few months at a methadone clinic.

 

[Munky]

Raype culture strikes again... Womenz feelings > *

 

[boomerang]

Remember kiddies, without your tax dollars this brave young junkie may not be able to afford to keep doing her "art". This nation's bourgeoisie art market sadly undervalues piss and spoiled food painting.

Her life got easier with the passing of Obamacare. With health care coverage she's now free to work fewer hours. A greater dependence on the makers in this country yields greater freedom for the takers. It's a glorious thing.

 

[Lithium381]

Her life got easier with the passing of Obamacare. With health care coverage she's now free to work fewer hours. A greater dependence on the makers in this country yields greater freedom for the takers. It's a glorious thing.

that's a new one for me, got a chuckle!

 

[mect]

Yes, you're going to get raped by a statue.

So you don't think an 18 year old girl walking past this in the dark for the first time might get really freaked out not realizing this is a sculpture.

 

[mect]

While I also favor artistic expression and encouraging students to expose themselves to art that causes some discomfort, I also appreciate students not wanting art that many consider personally distasteful dominating a busy point on campus. This is their campus, and they should have some input in how it looks. If some artist wants to call a 5 foot high steaming pile of shit art, and a college finds value in it and wants to display it in an art gallery, go ahead. If professors want to assign their students to go look at it and write about their responses, that's fine, but don't put the thing right in the middle of campus.

 

[Victorian Gray]

Realistic statue of man in his underwear at Wellesley College sparks controversy

So, according to the article, the sculpture is making some students uncomfortable at the College. Should artistic expression be stifled because it causes some people discomfort and anxiety? Students have started a petition to have the sculpture removed.

So, out of an enrollment of a little over 2500 students, 100 or so were drawn to sign a petition which at this point the administration is pretty much ignoring.

The absolute horror!

Wait, what are we in absolute horror about again?

 

[boomerang]

So you don't think an 18 year old girl walking past this in the dark for the first time might get really freaked out not realizing this is a sculpture.

I'll venture there isn't a single solitary soul on campus and in the community that doesn't know it's there.

 

[boomerang]

So, out of an enrollment of a little over 2500 students, 100 or so were drawn to sign a petition which at this point the administration is pretty much ignoring. The absolute horror! Wait, what are we in absolute horror about again?

Nobody's in horror that I'm aware of. You're just being overly emotional again. Is there something wrong with you you'd like to share with us?