In today’s politically charged climate, the ongoing debate about what’s appropriate has altered the dialogue among educators, parents, and students. During the 2021-2022 school year, over 1,600 books were banned, many of which related to race and the LGBTQ+ community. Just last week at Lewis and Clark State College, a student’s exhibition was taken down on the grounds that it “promotes abortion”. The work in question featured documentary clips of people explaining their experience with reproductive care, a handwritten copy of a letter addressed to Planned Parenthood, and embroidery featuring medication used to induce an abortion. These examples represent just a few of many scenarios that have become the topic of discussion surrounding censorship in classrooms. Recently, the discussion resurfaced, this time with one of the most recognizable works at the center. The controversy featured Michelangelo’s David, which 6th graders were shown a picture of during a lesson about the Renaissance. Despite being one of the most revered sculptures in Western art, parents complained that the statue was pornographic, and expressed anger that the school did not warn them ahead of time. While the school board ushered the principal, Hope Carrasquilla, to step down and apologize, art historians had a very different reaction. Cecilie Hollberg, director of the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, which takes pride in its display of David, called for the principle to be “rewarded, not punished”. With two wildly different perspectives at play, let’s take a look at the current discourse behind a decades-old argument:
An Act of Public Indecency?
Art censorship is nothing new. From classrooms to government buildings, and even museums, censorship represents a constant clash in values and beliefs. Nudity in particular has been on the hot seat among school curriculums for some time now. Many parents argue that nude art is not appropriate for students, especially young children. Oftentimes it gets labeled as too inappropriate, mature, or straight-up pornographic, although that’s hard to define. In fact, in the court case Jacobellis v Ohio, when Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart was asked what his litmus test for pornography was, he famously responded only with “I know it when I see it”. So where do we draw the line? In the case of the David incident, Carrasquilla’s resignment was initiated by Barney Bishop III, a schoolboard chair and lobbyist who claimed that while the sculpture itself was not offensive, Carrasquillla’s failure to warn parents ahead of time was unacceptable. He noted that “parents are entitled to know anytime their child is being taught a controversial topic and picture”.
Some art historians have pushed back, believing this issue goes beyond the classroom, such as Florentine art expert Tomaso Mantanari, who claimed: “This cultural backsliding clearly highlights the presence of fundamentalist views within the West”. Following Carrasquilla’s resignation, the mayor of Florence even invited her to visit the gallery, tweeting “art is civilization and those who teach it deserve respect”. In an effort to shed light on how a conversation with students might play out, Virginia Catherall, a curator for the Utah Museum of Fine Art, describes the approach museum employees take when addressing nude art: “There’s many reasons people create nude art. Not understanding all those different reasons and not being exposed to all those reasons then becomes a deficit in children’s understanding, so we do address it right away”. By introducing students to nude art in a way that is educational and not treating it as a taboo, she says that “because [children] are not forbidden from looking at it, they become much more mature viewers of it”.
“Because [children] are not forbidden from looking at it, they become much more mature viewers of it”
https://www.upr.org/arts-and-culture/2018-01-11/art-nudity-and-public-schools-questions-arise-in-the-wake-of-controversial-firing
With the ongoing divide over censorship, our classrooms are the battleground. It’s more important than ever we’re able to navigate tricky territory in a healthy, mature, and ultimately educational, way.