The Richard Prince exhibition “Spiritual America,” which was to open on Thursday at the Tate Modern museum in London, was withdrawn Wednesday after a warning from Scotland Yard that its inclusion of a nude photograph of Brooke Shields taken when she was 10 years old could violate obscenity laws, The Guardian reported. The exhibition was to be shown as part of the gallery’s program “Pop Life: Art in a Material World” but was closed off from display after newspaper reviews drew the attention of the police. The photograph, which was included in “Spiritual America” when it was shown at the Guggenheim Museum in 2007, was taken by Mr. Prince from a photograph made by Gary Gross in 1976 and authorized by Ms. Shields’s mother. A spokeswoman for the Tate Modern said that the display had been “temporarily closed down” and that the catalog for the exhibition had been withdrawn from sale.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/arts/design/02arts-EXHIBITIONWI_BRF.html

Do you think that the Police in the UK went too hard on this? The photograph has been known for years and this is not the first time that has been displayed in a exhibition.

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http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/v...7/scotflag.gif http://i680.photobucket.com/albums/v.../scot2flag.gif

"If women are so bloody perfect at multitasking how come they can't have a headache and sex at the same time?"
Billy Connolly

Art is an easy target, but one can't really say how appropriate the police were without having seen the photograph. I wonder if the policeman who made this obv. political decision has seen it.

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1984 300TD

I took a look at the photo and I have to say it's strange... A completely undeveloped child, made up like an adult, oiled up in a Grecian bath. Inappropriate at best, obscene at worst.

It's art though and not the first or last time a piece of art will be challenged by the reigning society.

You see pictures of naked kids all the time running around on the beach and whatnot. At what point does it become inappropriate to photograph them?

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

As was demonstrated in the Roman Polanski case, the photo probably amounts to a crime against the state.

If so, that is the end of the story.

Now that I've seen it, I don't think appropriate-wise it is any worse than the little kid beauty pageant stuff some parents do to their kids. I also think it has artistic value. It is not pornographic.







Indeed. I read about one woman arrested for taking a picture of her own 4 yr old daughter who had put on the woman's underwear and shoes. One of those 'how adorable' pictures parents take. Nudity is the natural condition for human beings.

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1984 300TD

Saw it just so I have some perspective. Not interested. Weird what people call art these days but I guess it is something I don't understand.

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Hey, what does RP see in a 13yo? OTOH, maybe when I went to college at 16 and was hitting on 20+yo I got a taste for older skirts so the young ones don't interest me. I know Mom wasn't impressed with my 28 yo GF when I was 17 but she did know quite a few tricks. She took advantage of my innocence and made me do unspeakable acts with her. None of which involved other men, underaged people or animals.

I guess it depends on how much you want to test the limits. Me, I wouldn't.

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow