A British artist took down John William Waterhouse’s painting from an exhibition at the Manchester Art Gallery. Critics called it an act of censorship or a publicity stunt. Boyce doesn’t agree.
Source: Royal Academy of Arts
In late January, 2018, John William Waterhouse’s painting Hylas and the Nymphs was removed from the walls of the Manchester Art Gallery. Social media described it as censorship. For example, critic Jonathan Jones speaks about the thin edge of censorship and asks if Picasso will be off the walls next, the Guardian reports.
The newspaper received letters from people who worry about such displays of censorship: an Oxford professor of German wrote that Nazi curators had removed works from exhibitions because they had “conflicted with their political aims and puritanical taste”. People also leave negative comments on the gallery’s website. The decision to take down the work is called “a political statement” and “feminism extremism”.
Sonia Boyce, the artist who removed the painting from the exhibition, said the reaction was a surprise for her. She thinks it a sign of culture wars related to a fourth wave of feminism, sexual harassment scandals and dealing with art made under different ethical conditions from our own.
Hylas and the Nymphs by John William Waterhouse. Source: Manchester City Gallery/The Guardian
She told the Guardian that her first reaction was to “go and hide” but not because she “felt remorseful”. She added that “a level of anger and vitriol that was really unhealthy” and “the desire to bash women in the public space was strongly felt”.
Some say the removal of the painting is a publicity stunt to attract attention to the gallery, but Boyce doesn’t agree. She explains that the painting was taken down to start a discussion.
The artist published an article on the Guardian, in which she explained her position: it was certainly not about removing an image deemed to be offensive. Rather, it was drawing attention to – and questioning – the ways in which museums make decisions all the time about what visitors see, in what context, with what labelling.
Sonia Boyce’s retrospective will run at the Manchester Art Gallery from March 23 to July 22. Admissions are free. Find more information on manchesterartgallery.org
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