Ironic morons

Nic Cohen from the Standpoint blog writes about the death and work of Indian Artist MF Husain. Husain's work was controversial not because he deliberately made it so but because religious fanatics in India believed it was beyond the purview of a Muslim to be inspired by the Hindu religious texts. Sadly ironic when one considers it is usually the type of rationale employed by the Islamicists against all others. Nonetheless the article calls into question  the Art establishments 'cahoney's'(or lack thereof) for doing nothing in the face of such religious persecution against a fellow artist as well as against an artistic establishment in Enland.

Editors usually look for controversy the way that boozers look for brawls. The furore that Husain provoked — entirely innocently, I should add — ought to have made him famous here. But as we pointed out, the most telling aspects of the assault on the Asia House exhibition was that it raised barely a squeak of protest from the British cultural establishment. When making a stand involves tackling religious bigots, cultural contrarians, who boast of their edginess and willingness to transgress boundaries, fall into a cowardly silence. The fear of accusations of racism or prejudice shut up those who ought to have defended Husain, as surely as the fear of violent reprisals.

This reluctance to offend religious sensibilities has been documented numerous times in the recent past...except when that attack has been directed at excoriating the Christian religion. When that happens Artsville is quick to respond with outcries of applause and the reward of instant fame. The artists are lionised as; brave, courageous, cutting edge, breaking boundaries, shattering stifling mores, evolutionary revolutionaries etc, etc. It appears that the only religious mores the art establishment deems worthy of ridicule are those of the Christian variety...probably because it is the only one which has been taught to turn the other cheek.
Perhaps it is nothing more sinister than the obvious self-hatred the Western intellectual appears to have for his/her own culture, or could there be another, more metaphysical reason?

Matt Hayden: http://www.cultureofthearts.com/ writes rather eruditely as well as amusingly on these hypocritical tendencies exhibited by the artistic establishment:

The lazy act of provocation is typical of the talentless weasels of Artsville. Firstly, he didn't even create his own images, as the article describes:

Pople photographed the altar piece last year, then used digital technology to add pornography taken from magazines found by his wife, curator Felicity Fenner.

Secondly, it's clearly meant to shock and offend. But it's only aimed at one group: Christians. The elephant in the, er, gallery is the absence of treasured symbols from another religion whose followers are easily offended. Like so many arty types before him, he's avoided using his searing and courageous creativity to offend Islam.

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