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Name: Birmingham removes Mohammed Ali's "Free Gaza" mural from building.   [ Edit ]

Date: 2006-present

Location: Europe

Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion

Medium: Public art ,Painting

image description
Artist: Mohammed Ali

Confronting Bodies: West Midlands Police Officers and Council in Birmingham, UK

Date of Action: February 26 2009

Specific Location: Front of a building in Alum Rock, Birmingham, UK

Description of Artwork: Graffiti mural painting with the words "Free Gaza" painted over a fence, a bloody hand waving the Palestine flag.



Description of Incident: The West Midlands police sandblasted the mural from Sergeant orders and after also receiving permission from building owner. It was removed "for fear it would trigger racial violence." According to the DailyMail, "the decision was taken to remove the image following a 'risk assessment' they had carried out."



Results of Incident: Ali met with police staff to discuss the removal.



Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1157721/Award-winning-artists-anti-war-mural-scrubbed--fear-violence.html

Submitted By: Teresa Koberstein, NCAC

Date Input: Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Date Edited


Name: Harper College removed Amir Normandi photography after Muslim students protested   [ Edit ]

Date: 1995 - 2005

Location: North America

Subject: Religious ,Nudity

Medium: Photography

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Artist: Amir Normandi

Confronting Bodies: Muslim students at Harper College

Date of Action: October 2005

Specific Location: Harper College in Palatine, IL, Building C

Description of Artwork: "No Veil Required" included photographs of nude Muslim women wearing only a head covering, some showing young Muslim men with machine guns.

Description of Incident: Harper College invited Chicago photographer Amir Normandi to exhibit his works depicting Muslim women in Iran defying the wearing of the jilbab. Rich Johnson, co-coordinator of international students at Harper, said the exhibit was an event put on in conjunction with the colleges art department. The exhibit that included photographs of nude Muslim women wearing only a head covering was taken down just hours after opening for public viewing. Muslim students at the college protested to officials about the pieces on display in Building C. Several students said the pieces were downright offensive.

Results of Incident: The exhibit was removed.

Source: http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=18038_Muslim_Students_Shut_Down_Exhibit_at_Harper_College&only http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/008749.php

Submitted By: Teresa Koberstein, NCAC

Date Input: Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Date Edited: Tuesday, February 3, 2009


Name: David Cerny's 'Bulgaria toilet art' covered by Czech government   [ Edit ]

Date: 2006-present

Location: Europe

Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion

Medium: Sculpture

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Artist: David Cerny and two associates

Confronting Bodies: Bulgarian Government

Date of Action: January 2009

Specific Location: Brussels, European Council building

Description of Artwork: An eight-tonne mosaic resembling a snap-out plastic modelling kit, showing Bulgaria as a series of squat toilets. This is part of an installation called Entropa, commissioned by the Czech Republic, which lampoons stereotypes of the EU's 27 members.



Description of Incident: Entropa, commissioned by the Czech Republic to adorn EU headquarters in Brussels, has caused a sensation, and some embarrassment, across Europe. The work lampoons stereotypes of the EU's 27 members - David Cerny's depiction of Bulgaria was that of several squat toilets. Bulgaria issued a formal protest.



Results of Incident: The Czech government and the artist apologized and shrouded the artwork in a black sheet. The artwork is expected to remain on show in the lobby of the European Council building until July - for the duration of the Czech EU presidency.



Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7840187.stm

Submitted By: Teresa Koberstein, NCAC

Date Input: Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Date Edited: Tuesday, February 3, 2009


Name: Nicole Boenig McGrade's photo, "Kids in Suburbia," was removed from Subiaco Library exhibit because the children's shirts were off.   [ Edit ]

Date: 2006-present

Location: Australia

Subject: Nudity

Medium: Photography

image description
Artist: Nicole Boenig McGrade

Confronting Bodies: Subiaco Library, Perth

Date of Action: early January, 2009.

Specific Location: Perth, Australia

Description of Artwork: "Kids in Suburbia," a black and white photo which shows an 18-month-old boy and his three-year-old sister both with their shirts off, playing on a sidewalk. There are two buckets and some chalk.



Description of Incident: Earlier this month, photographer Nicole Boenig McGrade submitted her picture, "Kids in Suburbia," for an exhibition at the Subiaco Library in Perth. Concerned that the photo might prompt complaints, the exhibition organizer suggested it be left out and Boenig McGrade agreed.



Results of Incident: The photo was taken out of the exhibit.



Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24973227-5013404,00.html and http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24974160-5005941,00.html

Submitted By: Teresa Koberstein, NCAC

Date Input: Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Date Edited


Name: Terence Koh's "Gone, Yet Still" exhibit comprising of inconic figurines with erections causes lawsuit at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art.   [ Edit ]

Date: 2006-present

Location: Europe

Subject: Explicit Sexuality ,Religious

Medium: Sculpture

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Artist: Terence Koh

Confronting Bodies: Emily Maptuwa

Date of Action: Exhibit ran September 2007 - January 2008. Suit filed for a September 2008 court hearing.

Specific Location: Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, England.

Description of Artwork: The piece comprises dozens of plaster objects, including statues of such figures as Mickey Mouse, E.T., and Jesus, all shown with erections.



Description of Incident: The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art will go to court in September to face charges of offending public decency. The gallery is being sued by Emily Mapfuwa, a citizen outraged by an artwork in the gallery's September 2007  January 2008 Terence Koh exhibition, "Gone, Yet Still."



Results of Incident: Court case scheduled September 23 2008.



Source: http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/28254/baltic-centre-to-face-suit-over-koh-christ-sculpture/

Submitted By: Teresa Koberstein, NCAC

Date Input: Monday, January 26, 2009

Date Edited


Name: Pilsen Gallery covers Amir Normandi's photo "True You" of nude Muslim woman   [ Edit ]

Date: 2006-present

Location: North America

Subject: Nudity ,Religious

Medium: Photography

image description
Artist: Amir Normandi

Confronting Bodies: Pilsen Together Chamber of Commerce

Date of Action: October 11 2008

Specific Location: Pilsen Together Chamber of Commerce, Chicago, IL, USA

Description of Artwork: A photograph of a nude woman holding a mirror and paint roller in front of her face. The eyes of a veiled woman appear in the mirror.



Description of Incident: Neighbors complained, even threatened violence, about the photograph which was on display in the window. The organization covered the nudity in the photo, to which the artist objected.



Results of Incident: The artist removed the photo and later agreed to return the photo for display in a less visible area.



Source: http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2008/oct/16/nation/chi-talk-pilsen-artoct16

Submitted By: Teresa Koberstein, NCAC

Date Input: Monday, January 26, 2009

Date Edited: Tuesday, February 3, 2009


Name: UCLA's 2008 Wight Biennial censored Maya Lujan's "White Magic and Xandu" mandala symbol for resembling a swastika.   [ Edit ]

Date: 2006-present

Location: North America

Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion

Medium: Mixed Media

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Artist: Maya Lujan

Confronting Bodies: The student curators of the UCLA 2008 Wight Biennial exhibition

Date of Action: September 24 2008

Specific Location: New Wight Gallery at UCLA's Broad Art Center, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Description of Artwork: A small square of bare wall enclosed by four arms made of velvet, mounted on a wall. This piece is complimentary to a large art structure.



Description of Incident: Student curators who requested the removal of the mandala said to Lujan in an email that they, "'love your installation' but were 'wondering if the wall mandala is absolutely necessary and if you would be open to taking it down? We've received a lot of questions about it and I am afraid it is being misread by the public.'" Also, the "curators were misled by the fact that in her proposal Lujan described this part of the work as a 'velvet painting' and that the proposal materials did not make clear what the finished installation would look like or 'it would have been dealt with before.'" The curators did not say the piece resembled a swastika, but Russell Ferguson, chairman of the UCLA art department, did confirm that the decision to remove the piece was because of the resemblance. The curators removed the velvet mandala piece before receiving approval by Lujan, but left the remaining art structure in the exhibit.



Results of Incident: The piece was removed for the exhibit. Lujan would like another opportunity to exhibit her piece in its entirety.



Source: Los Angeles Times http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2008/10/ucla-art.html

Submitted By: Teresa Koberstein, NCAC

Date Input: Monday, January 26, 2009

Date Edited: Monday, January 26, 2009


Name: Nudes taken down from public exhibition at Harrow Arts Centre   [ Edit ]

Date: 2006-present

Location: Europe

Subject: Nudity

Medium: Painting

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Artist: Cheryl Gould, Jonathan Hutchins, Roy Rogers

Confronting Bodies: Harrow Council

Date of Action: october 2008

Specific Location: Harrow, U.K.

Description of Artwork: paintings containing nudes



Description of Incident: The artists were called to the arts centre by members of Harrow Arts Society, who had been instructed by council officers to remove the explicit paintings.

The decision was taken because the arts centre is a public building, not exclusively an art gallery, and there were fears children and religious groups would be offended.



Results of Incident: Jonathan Hutchins decided to replace his paintings in the exhibition, but Cheryl Gould and her partner Roy Rogers, a former president of the art society who was also exhibiting, pulled out in protest.



Source: Harrow Times

Submitted By: NCAC

Date Input: Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Date Edited


Name: Canadian Non-profit Association Orders Artist to Remove Image of Karl Marx From Public Mural   [ Edit ]

Date: 2006-present

Location: North America

Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion

Medium: Public art

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Artist: Unnamed Local Artist

Confronting Bodies: West End BIZ (Business Improvement Zone)

Date of Action: July 2008

Specific Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Description of Artwork: Public painted mural depicting Winnipeg during the 1919 general strike.



Description of Incident: The Executive Director of West End BIZ, Gloria Cardwell-Hoeppner, admitted to ordering a local artist to remove an image of a man who resembled Karl Marx from the final design of a public mural that the association commissioned. She remarked that the BIZ's original intention was to commission a mural that depicted the social climate and history of that period in Winnipeg, rather than the political history. The artist complied and the image of the Marx-looking man was removed from the mural.



Results of Incident: Passerby have expressed some disappointment and the mural is the subject of a local internet blog. However, no action is being taken.



Source: Winnipeg Free Press

Submitted By: NCAC - Lesley Clark

Date Input: Friday, August 1, 2008

Date Edited: Friday, August 1, 2008


Name: Art Gallery Fights Censorship with Humour   [ Edit ]

Date: 2006-present

Location: North America

Subject: Nudity

Medium: Installation

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Artist: Erika Risko; Mayer Fine Art

Confronting Bodies: Management of the building where Mayer's Fine Art is located

Date of Action: July 2008

Specific Location: Norfolk, Virginia, United States

Description of Artwork: Four canvases that collectively depict a woman's nude torso and arms.



Description of Incident: Erika Risko's work, "Martyrdom," was exhibited at Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia without incident. The piece also showed in a student exhibit in Washington, D.C. called "Early Look," without complaint. Mayer's Fine Art Gallery chose to display "Early Look" in Norfolk, including Risko's work. Building management complained that the nude, female breasts depicted in the work were offensive and the piece should be removed from exhibit.



Results of Incident: Instead of removing "Martyrdom," the gallery owner decided to cover the breasts, in an effort to make the building management's demand look foolish. There is also talk of plans to ask guests to design "tasteless" pasties which will be rotated over "Martyrdom's" breasts for the rest of the month.



Source: Phillyist (www.phillyist.com)

Submitted By: NCAC - Lesley Clark

Date Input: Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Date Edited


Name: Chinese Government Cancels Art Exhibit By Controversial Artist   [ Edit ]

Date: 2006-present

Location: Asia

Subject: Other

Medium: Sculpture

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Artist: Zhang Huan; Shanghai Art Museum

Confronting Bodies: local Shanghai government; Shanghai Cultural Bureau

Date of Action: July 2008

Specific Location: Shanghai, China

Description of Artwork: An exhibition holding many pieces of work by the artist. The specific pieces in question are 16-foot tall sculptures called "Giant 1" and "Giant 2." They are deformed and have body parts made of cowhide, but have human faces.



Description of Incident: Without explanation, the local government cancelled the exhibit that was sheduled to be shown at the Shanghai Art Museum. Sources close to the incident claim that government officials were disturbed by "Giant 1" and "Giant 2."



Results of Incident: The same sources maintain that officials are still in negotiations and they are hoping that the exhibit can be rescheduled for next month. This would be exciting, as Mr. Zhang used to be blacklisted in China.



Source: Raw Art Weblog (rawartint.wordpress.com)

Submitted By: NCAC - Lesley Clark

Date Input: Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Date Edited


Name: Chinese Government Censors Art Exhibits to Assert More Control Over Expression During 2008 Olympic Games   [ Edit ]

Date: 2006-present

Location: Asia

Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion

Medium: Painting

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Artist: Andy Warhol at Galleri Faurschou & Ma Baozhong at Xin Beijing Art Gallery

Confronting Bodies: The Chinese Government

Date of Action: July 2008

Specific Location: Beijing, China

Description of Artwork: Paintings of Olympic athletes by Andy Warhol; Paintings depicting the Dalai Lama and former Chinese President Jiang Zemin by Ma Baozhong



Description of Incident: Chinese government officials made the two art gallerys postpone the openings of the exhibits, because they did not feel that attention to Western art was appropriated during a monumental event in China, like the Olympic Games. Also, they were uncomfortable with the depictions of the Dalai Lama and Jiang Zemin by Ma, because they are highly politicized figures.



Results of Incident: The galleries are complying with the government's orders. No further action is reported.



Source: Raw Art Weblog (rawartint.wordpress.com)

Submitted By: NCAC - Lesley Clark

Date Input: Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Date Edited


Name: Provocative Film Banned from DVD Distribution in Australia Causing Accusations of Art Expression Censorship   [ Edit ]

Date: 2006-present

Location: Australia

Subject: Explicit Sexuality

Medium: Film Video

Artist: Pier Paolo Pasolini; Shock Entertainment

Confronting Bodies: Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification

Date of Action: 1975 - 1993, 1997 through the present

Specific Location: Australia

Description of Artwork: Salo (or 120 Days in Sodom) is set in Italy during World War II and is about four men who kidnap 16 adolescents and subject them to torture and humiliation. It features scenes depicting explicit sadistic sexual violence, pedophilia and feces-eating. The film has been described as a metaphor for fascism.



Description of Incident: After its release in 1975, the film was banned in Australia until 1993, when it was released in a limited fashion. The ban was reinstated in 1997. Recently, Shock Entertainment obtained the rights and applied to the Office of Film and Literature Classifaction (OFLC) for a rating, so that the company could distribute the film on DVD. The board of 13 voted against the application, 7-6.



Results of Incident: Many in the Australian arts and film community have voiced outrage that the OFLC would deny Australians the right to make the choice to view Salo in the privacy of their own homes. Freedom of speech group "Watch on Censorship" has publicly stated that they are unhappy with the decision and that the film is a tightly constructed, narrative piece with high artistic value. The OFLC's decision stands at the moment.



Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

Submitted By: NCAC - Lesley Clark

Date Input: Monday, July 21, 2008

Date Edited


Name: El Paso Mall Management Demands Removal of Works From an Exhibit   [ Edit ]

Date: 2006-present

Location: North America

Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion

Medium: Painting

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Artist: Diana Zamora and John Rust

Confronting Bodies: Simon Property Group

Date of Action: Late June, 2008

Specific Location: El Paso, Texas, United States

Description of Artwork: Series of sociopolitical satire paintings by the two artists: one depicted a woman seductively placing the muzzle of a gun into another woman's mouth, another portrayed the iconic 'Welcome to Las Vegas' sign as reading "Welcome to Iraq" and dripping with blood.



Description of Incident: The artists agreed to display their works in an exhibit called "00 Zealot," to be shown in a clothing store located in Sunland Park Mall. Ten days after the exhibit opened, mall management demanded that Zamora and Rust remove their paintings, because the mall received complaints from customers that the paintings were "offensive." There was no written contract, but a verbal agreement between the artists, the store owner and mall management.



Results of Incident: All parties agree that the art is good. However, mall mangement has said it takes the complaints of customers very seriously and the decision to remove the works stands. The artists' First Amendment rights have not been violated, because the mall is private property. So, the owners retain the right to decide what is displayed there.



Source: "What's Up: Free Entertainment Weekly for El Paso Juarez Las Cruces" http://www.whatsuppub.com/showArticle.asp?articleId=5828

Submitted By: NCAC - Lesley Clark

Date Input: Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Date Edited


Name: Previously Censored Mongolian Modern Art Triumphs in New Exhibition at Ulan Baatar   [ Edit ]

Date: 1951 - 1975

Location: Asia

Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion

Medium: Painting

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Artist: Several artists, including G. Soosoi, P. Baldandorj, G. Dunburee and O. Tsevegjav

Confronting Bodies: The Communist Party, Mongolian Government

Date of Action: July 20, 1968 & June 17, 2008

Specific Location: Ulan Baatar, Mongolia

Description of Artwork: In 1968, the Exhibition Hall of the Union of Mongolian artists opened an exhibit called "First Exhibition of Young Painters," which featured several paintings that diverged from the government sanctioned style of "socialist realism." The paintings symbolized Mongolia's first steps towards modern art with the use of abstract shapes and experimental colors. The show included such works as, "Mother" by G. Soosoi, "Khovsgal Lake" by P. Baldandorj, "Ten Goats" and "Ten Camels" by G. Dunburee and "Mother's Honesty" by O. Tsevegjav.



Description of Incident: The Communist Party denounced the work as, "bourgeois" and "capitalist art" and the Mongolian government immediately closed the show. The artists involved were strictly punished, with some being sentenced to reside permanently in Mongolia and only paint posters and portraits of socialist leaders in the style of socialist realism.



Results of Incident: Despite this incident, the modern movement in Mongolia continued to grow. In 1980, the Exhibition Hall of the Union of Mongolian Artists displayed more modern art without repercussion. By the fall of the Communist Party in the 1990's, modern Mongolian art hit its stride.

On June 17, 2008, Khan Bank curator Ts. Uranchimeg opened an exhibit at the Art Gallery called, "the bourgeois art," featuring many of the original works from the 1968 exhibit.



Source: Montsame Agency & Caucasas and Central Asia Newsletter The Caucasus and Central Asia Program at the University of California, Berkeley Issue 7, Spring 2005

Submitted By: National Coalition Against Censorship - Lesley Clark

Date Input: Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Date Edited


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