\y • Octobei;
RKET uesda y ’ October 28, 1997
O The Battalion
PINION
The art of censorship
[merican preoccupation with sexuality hinders appreciation of artistic works
Mandy
Cater
assistant
opinion editor
jed from Paf
Anderson, r
vice presidem
n Bryan-Col|
r estors
sterday’smari;
le long terra,
ill have noai
"We believel;
short-lived an:
e marketwii^ mericans have always
nounting fioa||H been a step or two be-
; Kong has igiBLhinci where the subject
/hether glob art has been concerned,
ns will beuncith every movement from
st Asia's icBco to modern art, the
nounting tratve has reached America a
it interest Kwlrests behind. '
1 currendesp!^ Despite the American love
Kong’s Hanpr everything that is vulgar,
rcent as foi xual and nude, bare bottoms
donday. r art’s sake have always been
(aufmanhov iource of Western prudery,
rl weakeamii: Even in today’s America
interestratesi aen sexual innuendo per-
p decline ju eates everything, art is turning Americans into
ig’s problems gid Victorians.
lOutheastAsii Take for instance the recent censorship tainting
he said, i exhibit at BrighamYoung University’s Museum of
ive come all t.The exhibit, titled “The Hands of Rodin, ATrib-
is is what can e to B. Gerald Cantor,” is a tribute to one of the
andard&Poi ading collectors of French artist Auguste Rodin,
e standard aptl Rodin is responsible for creating one of the most
:ual funds an cognized sculptures in the world, “The Thinker.”
(14.65 to 876 However, other pieces of his work are being target-
ercent. 1 by BYU bigwigs as not acceptable,
asdaq comp One of the “questionable” works is called “The
d by techno ss.” The sculpture, one of Rodin’s most powerful
do more bus ulptures, depicts a male and female embracing,
t other Ame: ui|pbell Gray, director of the museum, felt that
suffered its w e nudity of the pair would offend many viewers,
p ever, fallirpThe fact that this piece was yanked is not sur-
ising considering the fact that BYU is a Mormon-
easurybond: vnfed school.
investors s However, nudity does not necessarily imply sin.
nit their cask ter all, Adam and Eve were nude,
ets steady. Another pulled work was Rodin’s “Saint John the
iptist Preaching.” Once again, the problem was
e prophet’s lack of clothing.
The sculpture was intended to capture the
int’s mortality, but according to Gray “this con-
ption of the prophet is made less than what we
uld regard as reverent or honorable. It doesn’t
’ the prophet side of the man at all.”
hat Gray seems unable to grasp is that by
Host Admired cctedding his robes, Rodin has caught the prophet
Top internships bis most delicate.
en intership prop jT j s 0 p en f ree anc j humbled. His nudity is mere-
0,000 peryear,^ a tnbute to his position. He does not need tine
;r io years, infetrb, he merely wants to spread the word of his God.
ties agents earnt" jbe problem with the BYU show, as well as
1996
isltlons for '97 gri-
PRING If
WITH
many Americans’ attitudes toward the arts is that
they do not understand the symbolism of the nude
figure. Nudity captures the whole person; they are
not shielded or guarded, but rather,, are exposed,
leaving their emotions to be the focus of the work.
Perhaps what Gray and other Americans must
first understand is that nudity is not always some
thing intended to shock.
It is not always about sex and scandal. Ameri
cans have simply made it so.
After ages of prudish eras, Americans have re
belled. They have scoffed at Victorians by bom
barding every outlet with sex and skin.
These rebellions have existed with the 'intention
of producing shock. The purpose has been to push
the envelope.
However, where art is concerned, nudity does
not usually take this position. Art is about aesthet
ics and leaving people with an image that will
haunt them after their vision of it has passed.
For the artist, the human body is a beautiful,
fluid entity.
The message is not usually seduction, but in
stead, contemplation. The viewer is forced to look
past the material and look at the beauty, grace and
fragility of the person depicted.
For centuries, sculpting figures in the nude was
the norm, not considered some deviant act that
warrants censorship.
Modern society is the culprit, and it is unfortu
nate that the Mormon leaders at BYU cannot ap
preciate the artist’s higher meaning.
What is more unfortunate is that American soci
ety as a whole has so tainted the idea of nudity that
people naturally feel ashamed or disgusted with
naked bodies, even their own.
Not only does this attitude impair appreciation
of the arts, but also manifests itself in increasing
rates of eating disorders, sexually aggressive crimes
and pornography.
Rather than censoring moving works, we should
instead ask ourselves what it is about nudity that
makes us so uncomfortable.
We should try to understand why it is it that we
cannot even look at a nude form without relegating
it to something dirty or obscene.
In the end, the fault lies not with the artist, but
with ourselves.
Mandy Cater is a senior
psychology major.
t Station (409) 8T
rreeks, traditionally black fraternities
ihould form united organization
Anna
Foster
columnist
raternities
and soror
ities are a
owing fact of
e on the Texas
M Campus.
Members of the
Greek system
are in every col
lege and many
organizations
on campus.
Over 40 chap-
fers of national
ly recognized Greek organiza
tions exist on campus, and the
number of participants increases
every semester.
Along with the obvious social
pects of Greek life, Greeks also
[erform service projects and
ise money for charities.
Gender lines are blurred in
rofessional and service frater
nities, but social fraternities and
sororities remain gender specific
to men and women.
The fraternities have a govem-
gbody, the Inter-Fraternity
duncil. The sororities have a gov-
g body, the Panhellenic
Council.
I Anyone looking at the Student
Activities page on the A&M home
page might think that would cov
er all of the Greeks on campus,
and wonder what the Pan-Hel
lenic Council was for.
Further investigation would
reveal that the Pan-Hellenic
Council governs the “historical
ly” black fraternities and sorori
ties, which might cause the ob
server to pause and say “huh?”
The Pan-Hellenic council
was formed to govern the soci
eties that formed when estab
lished fraternities would not
accept black members.
The fact that it still exists re
flects some very serious prob
lems within the Greek system.
No fraternity or sorority
would consciously discriminate
against someone from another
race or background. All of the
fraternities and sororities make
clear that everyone is welcome
to join, regardless of color.
Apparently, one-on-one con
tact is accepted, but unification
of the entire Greek system is dis
tasteful to all involved.
If there is still the sort of
racism going on in the Greek sys
tem that created the need for a
separate board, this situation
should be exposed and all lead
ers of Greek organizations should
work towards correcting it.
If the entire Greek system is
just complacent, and does not
want to be bothered to change,
this situation must also be exam
ined and changed by the leaders
of these groups.
It can not be denied that there
are racial tensions all over cam
pus and the nation.
Remaining separate will not
improve the situation. The
practice of “separate but equal”
was declared unconstitutional
in the Supreme Court case
Brown vs. Topeka Board of Edu
cation, and common sense says
the same thing.
Is there still a need for sepa
rate governing bodies? The his
torical differences that created
the different organizations are
the very things that would make
the group’s combined efforts im
pressive.
The possibilities of what the dif
ferent groups could offer each other
if they joined together are endless.
Due to the close-knit nature
of fraternities and sororities, the
opportunities for cultural shar
ing are multiplied. (This is part
of the more-people-means-bet-
ter-party theory.) For example,
the pride that is fostered by a
well-executed step show (“step
ping” is an ingrained part of Pan-
Hellenic fraternities) would be a
bonus to any Greek.
The increased manpower
consolidation brings also means
that more service projects like
the Dance Marathon—a service
project the three groups are
sponsoring benefiting the Scott
& White’s Children’s Clinic—can
be performed.
More importantly, if one gov
erning organization was formed,
it would be an open statement
that the Greek system is actively
working towards racial harmony
in the most basic way.
Complacency, or simply not
wanting to “play together” is
not a valid excuse for remaining
separate.
Either all fraternities and soror
ities are Greek, or they are not.
g
Anna Foster is a junior
journalism majorl
The Battalion
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Editorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the
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Editorials Board
Helen Clancy
Editor in Chief
Brad Graeber
Managing Editor
Quick Fix
Bonfire leaders should focus on
maintaining success in the future
Time’s up.
After monitoring the activities at stack site for a
week, Bonfire leaders have boasted a complete re
covery. It seems that the students have cleaned up
their act, and no further intervention is necessary by
the University or campus leaders.
However, in making this hasty prognosis after
studying the situation for seven days, Bonfire leaders
should not forget to address the future. What will hap
pen when the dust settles?
If Malon Southerland, John Gallemore and Kevin
Jackson hide behind the security of their assessment,
will no progress be made?
Unfortunately, there is no band-aid solution for a
mentality that flaunts profane and sexually sugges
tive language at a cherished University tradition.
This should have been obvious when Bonfire-en
thusiasts flooded The Battalion with Mail Call letters
defending their behavior.
If the problem was merely a superficial condition,
then workers would have gladly removed the slogans
without hesitation, instead of launching a personal at
tack on a Battalion staffer.
LiX^Vich jrrum OmTmrrtPN^
This initial defiance should have alerted Bonfire
leaders to the extent of the problem. Of course, the
trio had immediate concerns which they effectively
addressed. For the past week, the atmosphere at stack
site has been transformed. Lewd “pots” are nowhere
to be found, and spray-paint is kept on hand to cloak
any suggestive phrases.
But the effectiveness of Bonfire leadership must
stand the test of time. The efforts to preserve the im
age of this tradition should not stop after this week’s
progress.
After stories have appeared in the Dallas Morning
News and on the Associated Press wire, it is probable
that Bonfire is under the scrutiny of outsiders. With
this in mind, Bonfire leaders should not abandon
their efforts so early in the game.
Southerland, Gallemore and Jackson should con
tinue to “appeal to the common sense” of students,
discouraging this kind of behavior.
Judging by the appearance of workers at stack site,
the initial efforts have yielded positive results.
However, maintaining this status is more than a
one-week project.
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