An Invertigation of the Validity of the Contextualisation of Artworks Depicting Children; Addressed in Light of Shifting Perspectives and Expanding Child Pornography Leglisation
Niamh Ryan
Subject: Painting/Photography
10,000 words
This dissertation examines the disjunction that persists within legal and art historical literature pertaining to the image of the child in art. The expansion of child pornography leglisation to emcompass fantasy images, and societal shifts in the way in which one views children, poses a threat to the artist’s freedom of expression while highlighting the issues of interpreting art retrospectively. In light of this, the way in which controversial artworks have been permitted in the public realm through nuanced academic contextualisation is explored. This is done through analysis of two prominent case studies which have incited controrversy; the photography of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and the paintings of Balthasar Klossowski. (Bathus)