Art Controversy

Regardless of artist intent, the significance of any artwork is created by the audience, who is influenced by the views of their world and personal experience. The French artist Edouard Manet, who worked primarily in the 1860’s, and contemporary Australian artist Bill Henson both employ the subject matter of the female nude in their art, but with different outcomes due to the influence of their separate contexts. It can be seen that particular art critics from different contexts interpret these artists’ works differently, due to the changing attitudes to the human figure over time. Their artworks are interpreted according to the audience’s social, cultural and historical circumstances, with critical opinion having influence over audience perceptions…show more content…
Bill Henson’s 2008 exhibition at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery caused controversy in both the art world and in the media due to the subject matter of Henson’s photography, which included multiple shots of preteen children. The reaction of the art criticism world was varied, with art critic John MacDonald endorsing Henson, saying he had ‘edgy insights into the soul and self’ (Mitchell c. 2011), which strengthens the concept of Henson encouraging the audience to self-reflect in order to discover meaning in his works. However, a stronger voice in the argument against the morality of Henson’s work came in the form of Sydney Morning Herald journalists Miranda Devine and Paul Sheehan (Mitchell 2011). While the voices of professional art critics served to support Henson against the harsh judgement of the media, there were many journalists outspoken against Henson in the Roslyn Oxley9 case. This lead to Henson’s name being associated with pedophilia - a clear indication of the power of a critic to influence media, and subsequently audience perception of an artist. Thus, the works of artists have a certain fluidity to their significance, due to the capacity for critics to influence audience understandings of artist and their…show more content…
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