'Censored Art Today'
September 6 2022
Picture: Lund Humphries
There's an excellent new book out on censorship in art in the age of cancel culture, written by Gareth Harris. Says the publisher:
Censored Art Today is an accessible, informed analysis of the debates raging around censorship of art and so-called ‘cancel culture’, focusing on who the censors are and why they are clamping down on forms of artistic expression worldwide. Art censorship is a centuries-old issue which appears to be on the rise in the 21st century - why is this the case?
Gareth Harris expertly analyses the different contexts in which artists, museums and curators face restrictions today.
Copies can be ordered here. Gareth has also started a regular new blog at The Art Newspaper, where he is Chief Contributing Editor, called Trigger Warning. He writes:
Along with the book I am launching the bi-monthly blog Trigger Warning, which will examine censorship cases worldwide, focusing on who the censors are and why they are clamping down on forms of artistic expression. The aim is to drill down on censorship episodes, analysing the implications for artists and the art world, and how such cases inform the debate around issues that dominate contemporary discourse.
The divide between "woke" and "anti-woke" factions is, for instance, not lessening but intensifying; this ideological chasm is complex and shifting but the fallout of censorship is often ignored (not anymore). In the course of my blog journey, I want to look at the different contexts in which artists, museums and curators face restrictions today, focusing on hot topics such as the algorithms policing art online and the narratives around problematic monuments. Unpicking the new “culture wars” is challenging but necessary.
