Painting of Myra Hindley, on display at art gallery in UK,is defaced by vandals
cyli
As an artist, I must agree. It's not as if it's the kind of show
anyone was forced to see. It seems, from the news report, to have been
deliberately designed to be shocking and disgusting. Making a mass
murderess one of the subjects of such a show seems appropriate to me.
Going to see it would be one of the farthest things from my mind,
though. Unless I'd heard it was very well done art. Which no one
seems to be saying so far. Then I might want to see it just for the
technique.
"If I die of curiosity, who will entertain you with naive questions?"
I only answer my mail on an average of once every two months. Be patient.
Joe1orbit
Hello,
Two days ago I posted a message concerning the "national outrage" in
Britain that was being whipped up by the media, concerning the display of a
painting of serial child killer Myra Hindley at an art gallery.
Well, today was the opening of this exhibit, and there were two separate
attacks against the painting. One man threw ink on it, and another
splattered the painting with eggs. This is very rude behavior, those
British folks should learn to have more respect for artistic works. It was
2 men who committed these defacements, and both were caught by police and
arrested. The painting was damaged quite badly, and it will take at least a
week to restore it.
I feel that these two men should be severely punished, at least
monetarily. The artist spent a tremendous amount of time & effort creating
this huge 13 foot high painting, and in the blink of an eye, these two
narrowminded and bigoted vandals defaced this work of art. It is these
types of inferior examples of humanity and blind stupidity that permeates
the Unwashed Masses, and renders entire societies worthy only of
destruction, death, and profound scorn.
Myra Hindley is a creation of her society, and British citizens should
respectly stand in front of this 13 foot high painting, bow their heads,
and then acknowledge & accept responsibility themselves, for the reality
and subsequent actions of Myra and her child killing partner.
Take care, JOE
The following appears courtesy of today's Associated Press news wire:
LONDON (AP) - A huge portrait of a child killer was splashed with ink then
splattered with egg Thursday on the opening day of a show that has Britons
arguing about the meaning of art.
Two men were arrested, one in each of the attacks, which came within about
an hour of each other.
The Royal Academy of Arts said it would take a week to restore the
painting, one of 110 works by 46 young British artists on display at
``Sensation,'' the academy's latest big show.
Marcus Harvey's painting ``Myra'' is based on a mug shot of Myra Hindley,
convicted of killing two children in the ``Moors murders'' trial in 1966.
Hindley, who is still in prison, later confessed to two other murders.
The 13-foot-high painting - created from the tiny handprints of young
children - has angered many who see it as exploiting the suffering of the
victims.
Winnie Johnson, mother of one of Hindley's victims, joined pickets outside
the Academy on Thursday and said she was delighted by the attacks on the
painting.
``I'm hoping they will do it every day and they will have to take it
down,'' she said.
Before the attacks, the Royal Academy's secretary, David Gordon, defended
the painting.
``I do have enormous sympathy with the protesters and with Winnie Johnson.
We are not a bunch of heartless, unthinking people,'' he said. ``The
decision to hang the painting in the gallery is because the image of Myra
Hindley is a horrific part of our history, a heartless part of society.''
Condemned by some academy members, the show attracted huge publicity weeks
ahead of its opening.
Other works on display include a glass case filled with thousands of
maggots and flies breeding in a rotting cow's head and a sculptor's bust of
himself, filled with his own blood.
AP-NY-09-18-97
Melissa Hardie
Joe1orbit wrote:
> Two days ago I posted a message concerning the "national outrage" in
> Britain that was being whipped up by the media, concerning the display of a
> painting of serial child killer Myra Hindley at an art gallery.
Well, this fascinates me. I do not understand the desire to ban, or
otherwise efface, an artwork which represents a killer. To me it seems
crazy. Perhaps I could understand it if the representations were of
victims, or crimes, but then again, probably not. Is this because of the
way I think about the artistic domain?
I am genuinely interested to read the responses of those who do, though,
as it is obviously a very powerful feeling. Why does it affect people this
way?
--
Melissa
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'Generosity, Generosity. Generosity & Generosity!' Allen Ginsberg
New address: melissa...@english.usyd.edu.au