Probably most of you, or hopefully all of you, recognize this statue, Michelangelo’s David. It’s most likely one of the most famous sculptures in the contemporary western world.
Created between 1501 & 1504, this 17 foot marble masterpiece is an interpretation of one the Judeo-Christian world’s most galvanizing biblical figures. Because of that, it came to represent the defense of civil liberties in Florence, which was threatened by powerful rivals on all sides, as well as the intense force of the Medici family.
The Michelangelo David kerfuffle in Florida involves a charter school, the Tallahassee Classical School, that showed images of David during an art appreciation class to a group of sixth graders.
A letter usually goes out before the class so the parents are aware of the subject matter for the day. In this case, for some reason, the notice did not go out. Parents were upset that their young children were exposed to nudity in the art and the principal was forced to resign.
Tallahassee Classical School was licensed to use Hillsdale College’s classical education curriculum, but the college just announced that the school’s license was “revoked and will expire at the end of the school year.”
Hillsdale College is a small, Christian classical liberal arts college in southern Michigan that provides K-12 curriculum in partnership with dozens of charter schools across the country.
According to a spokesperson from the college., “This drama around teaching Michelangelo’s ‘David’ sculpture, one of the most important works of art in existence, has become a distraction from, and a parody of, the actual aims of classical education,” spokesperson Emily Stack Davis wrote in a statement. “Of course, Hillsdale’s K-12 art curriculum includes Michelangelo’s ‘David’ and other works of art that depict the human form.”This event brings an interesting focus to art censorship, arts education, and the exposure of children to various images outside of, ( and maybe also -inside of) the home. It’s also spurred numerous parodies, tweets, and Op-Ed responses throughout the world.
One, maybe the saddest,is this cartoon from artist Cathy Wilcox, for the Sydney Morning Herald:
As events unfold around us concerning censorship, education, freedom of speech, gender equality, etc. You might want to pause for a moment to consider a few questions, such as:
What does Art mean to you?
What is the purpose of art?
How should art history and art appreciation be taught to various audiences?
Is it acceptable to edit or censor works of art for considerations related to age, religion, or political affiliation? Does that dilute the original message intended by the artist? Does it weaken the image? Or does it serve to broaden basic exposure to a piece?
How is art tied into freedom of speech issues?
Think of various issues related to art , censorship & freedom of speech ( Charlie Hebdo, nude Adam & Eve paintings painted with clothes by later generations, etc) – how do we as a free society deal with these actions?
How should we teach art?
What is the difference between Michelangelo’s David & other nude images?
Feel free to leave your ( respectful) comments below, or to ponder these issues on your own.
Until next time…
PtofValFranco
profvalfranco 