Philip Poburka on sun 22 sep 02
Janet's Post...)
...or as (was it) Will'm Butler who had say'd:
( And many hath so prov'd...if in irony,)
"That all the Animals but 'Man' seem'd to know, that the
Business of LIFE is to enjoy it..."
Or as Talbot Mundy once observed: to 'enjoy', is to put Joy
into...?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Janet Kaiser"
To:
Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2002 5:12 PM
Subject: Re: neat website: How is this pornographic???????
Glad I sat on my first reply for 24 hours, so it was zapped
and I am now a
little calmer to try to express some of my personal thoughts
on Art and
Religious Fundamentalism, which is what this is all about. A
very difficult
subject given this moment in history and I am no theologian,
but here
goes...
I was raised in a puritanical society which regarded (and
often still does)
the human body as shameful. Procreation was seen as a duty
to be performed
without relish. The grim grit your teeth "Lie back and think
of England"
homily was given to young brides within living memory. We
can thank a
particularly narrow-minded generation of repressed bigots
and prudish
fundamentalists for that attitude permeating first our own
society and then
going forth to impose their ideals on the rest of the world
as zealous
missionaries. It had very little to do with spirituality and
a lot to do
with political colonisation and repression of other
religious beliefs and
social structures.
We can also thank them for the extreme counter-reaction and
revolt of
recent years, when this post-war generation behaved in a
diametrically
opposite way. Turning away from the established church/es,
the new idolatry
of "sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll" were a humble start to
the obscenities
which are now permissible in all media and throughout
society in the West.
Debasement of fellow human beings (including children) which
even artists
such as Hieronymous Bosch never approached capturing in his
worst nightmare
depictions of hell and purgatory.
This debauchery will in its turn disgust many gentle souls
and so the wheel
turns and we descend into embarrassed prudery and
self-conscious censorship
once again.
Along the way, all these lost generations have failed to
promote the simple
ideal of the human body being as a temple, which is capable
of expressing
and reciprocating our spirituality and love, not only to
ourselves, but our
partners, our families and all fellow human souls. True
eroticism is not
mere tittilation and sexual arousal, but a celebration of
ourselves - the
soul within - the godlike in all of us. Sexual intercourse
should not be
seen as the mere coupling of animals for personal
gratification, but the
joining of two people in deep spirituality and sensual
pleasure.
If we deny this as human beings, the world will be a far
worse place very
soon, as we completely deny our own humanity. If we teach
our children that
nakedness is wickedness, how are they to develop healthy
attitudes, minds
and spirits? Deny them the joyous nature of naked bodies in
a natural way
(including interpretations by artists) will they become
prudish prigs, or
revolt to the other extreme?
I am sorry for anyone who was shocked or embarrassed. But
when a gentle,
caressing and loving pose can be interpreted as
"pornography" it makes me
wonder just how they are preparing their children for the
realities of life
in the 21st century, let alone how to express the natural,
human decency
and deep trust which should exist in any relationship
between a man and a
woman, or any two people come to that. How will they develop
their
understanding of what is good and bad within a personal
relationship?
Denied visual stimuli, will the words of others, including
parents and
teachers be enough?
Nakedness is pornographic? A man holding woman in a loving
embrace is
pornographic? Even at the height of "modesty" and zealous
fundamentalism in
Victorian times, there was not that bias in Western art.
We can also thank our puritan forefathers for all the
misunderstanding and
misinterpretation of the role of both sexes - yes, including
eroticism and
nudity - in Eastern religions and cultures to this very day.
That is
something which is now coming back to haunt us in very bleak
and inhumane
ways.
Sincerely
Janet Kaiser
The Chapel of Art . Capel Celfyddyd
8 Marine Crescent, Criccieth LL52 0EA, Wales, UK
Tel: 01766-523570 URL: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
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