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September 25, 2005
UK: Artist's Work Withdrawn For Fear of Offending Muslims
While banned and "offensive" examples of decadent western art are displayed in Tehran in a bold gesture by a museum curator, in Britain the situation is reversed. The Tate gallery has withdrawn an exhibit from public view because it contains a copy of the "holy" Koran, and therefore may cause offence to Muslims.
In today's Observer, conceptual artist John Latham, spiritual godfather to today's young generation of Brit conceptual artists, called the management of the Tate gallery "cowards". His work contains three books, apparently embedded in glass. These books are copies of The Koran, The Bible and the Talmud. They are not covered in elephant dung, blood, feces or seminal fluid, mediums employed by many artists nowadays, nor are they defaced or damaged in any way. The piece was done 10 years ago, and is entitled "God is Great".
Just how this work, with its positive, religion-affirming title came to be deemed "offensive" is a mystery. Even the recent supporters of the rights of Muslim extremists, Liberty, Britain's civil liberties group, have complained. Shami Chakrabati, Liberty's Director opined.
"We share his concern." she said. "I don't know what precise thought processes were going on at the Tate but I am concerned about the signal this sends at a time when we see free speech quite significantly under threat. I think that after 7 July we need this kind of artistic expression and political expression and discourse and disagreement more than ever, which is why this is worrying. Is three holy books in a piece of glass going to incite controversy?"John Latham has said that if the gallery was unwilling to display the piece, which the Tate has owned for 10 years, then it should be returned to him. "God is Great" is, as a piece of art, less controversial than other "pieces" done by the artist. He once took a large volume on art and culture by Clement Greenburg, chewed it up in his mouth, and then deposited the resultant mash back to the library it came from.
One other notorious figure, Sir Iqbal Sacranie, has got in on the act. He stated that though unaware of the work, if the art gallery thought that such a display of holy books was offensive to believers "I respect their decision."
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at September 25, 2005 6:38 AM
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