Fringe Furore

Well, we have uproar in Adelaide over an exhibition, quite literally, of porcelain female genitalia. Just what we need and I feel sorry for the police because they literally get everything shoved their way when we cannot deal with it and they have to deal with who knows what. Porcelain. How reminiscent of toilets. Somehow the guidelines for the exhibition have either not been clear or have been ignored. In our social context their has to be consultation and freedom of choice with these matters. Artistically, male and female genitalia have never been considered beautiful , not like bottoms,arms, necks and breasts. They just haven't been. D H Lawrence tried to "loosen up" society with Lady Chatterly's Lover which got him into a lot of trouble but that was in the 1920s so there is nothing new in this and we are not reacting any differently, but he wasn't being particularly insightful either. We are a clothed society. We are also a society which forms relationships and so disembodied human bits are not going to go down well. We see people as a whole and relate to them as such. We are also subjected to body bits on late night TV and so a lack of appreciation for our values and wants and wishes is obvious. We are comfortable with ourselves and our bodies but we really do see body bits as part of someone and that is their artistic merit , I suppose. It's causing concern because it is one view which is foisted upon us which is contrary to our beliefs,  feelings and current laws. It is divorcing female parts from the whole and then disengaging them from their natural place.Art is about challenging views and ideas but in this case it seems to be out of synch with our context because the advertising has been very public and then we are the ones who are constantly being told we have got it all wrong.