Theory of Knowledge - Course Companion for Students Marija Uzunova Dang Arvin Singh Uzunov Dang

issue deserving our attention is the
Another
to which we can separate an artwork
extent
the artist. This question has gained
from
in recent years with high-profile
importance
about the crimes committed by
revelations
singers, actors and film-makers. Similar
artists,
are asked in other disciplines—
questions
many influential philosophers and
indeed,
were almost certainly racists,
scientists
or misogynists—but are artists
chauvinists
their art more inextricably linked? Do the
and
or unethical actions of an artist more
crimes
observers have argued that it is the
Some
in people that makes for good art, and
badness
experiencing and learning from their art
that
not mean condoning or perpetuating their
does
or rewarding them financially. (See, for
ideas,
Russell Smith’s article “Good Art by
example,
People” in the Canadian newspaper The
Bad
and Mail, 20 November 2016.)
Globe
2007 Guillermo Vargas exhibited Exposition
In
1, a dog tied to a wall in the Codice Gallery
No
Nicaragua, with the words “You are what
in
read” behind it, while the Sandinista
you
was played backwards. Vargas later
anthem
the dog, named Natividad, eventually
claimed
of starvation and dehydration due
died
the exhibition. This caused widespread
to
but Vargas responded by questioning
outrage
no one in the audience had taken any
why
to feed or free Natividad. Vargas was
action
with a familiar tension: was the artist
playing
or the audience? More to the TOK
responsible,
how would we go about asking that
point,
those who are interested, it is not clear
For
Natividad actually perished—
whether
the gallery’s director, Juanita
reportedly
stated that the dog was treated well
Bermúdez,
Vargas and released the next day. Vargas has
by
confirmed or denied this, insisting that
never
real outcome—the audience’s inaction and
the
clear.
complicity—was
has a significant and perhaps unique power
Art
evoke, provoke, offend or inspire humanity
to
some end. This quality of framing,
towards
distorting, interpreting, revealing or
cropping,
reality towards some truth has made art
hiding
and powerful and, therefore, a target
influential
those who wish to control influence and
for
The practice of censorship is commonly
power.
to governments, but humankind at
attributed
levels has a long history of censorship, based
all
calls to moral propriety and righteousness,
on
and respect for others, social stability
sensitivity
the protection of vulnerable groups.
and
range from the peculiar—Queen
Examples
encounter with the naked, 6-metre
Victoria’s
marble statue of David prompted the
high
of a proportionately accurate “fig leaf”
making
cover his nudity—to the systematic erasure
to
revolutionary icons such as Tank Man. A less
of
form of censorship is in deciding what
obvious
and is not, art, because artistic status confers
is,
and legal protections to a work.
social
of censorship in the arts abound
Examples
the reasons for censorship are similarly
and
In groups, discuss the following
varied.
questions.
1. Think about who censors art.
2. What are tacit, or informal, forms of
II outlined how art can serve at the
Section
of humanity’s social, political
vanguard
moral evolution. With the advantage of
and
we can identify works of art that
hindsight,
IV. Ethics
IV. Ethics
IV.2 Censorship
deeply affect how we experience their artwork?
IV.1 The role of the audience
For discussion
Censoring art
(a)
How are they given this power?
(b)
What criteria do they use?
censorship?
question?
IV.2.1 Censorship as a response to
transgression
were transgressive—violating the social,
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