Thread: DPP to consider charging Henson

Originally Posted by d3funct

You would be a terrific judge to sentence before a trial... never the less, you should play golf more, as you got a Hole-In-One as to what I said...

I'm done with the topic... there are too many people on here with a finger on the trigger, I can see it a mile away already that this wont go to court... they havent got any evidence.
There was no pornographic intent.

Furthermore, when these young ladies grow up, I hope you bow your head in shame. These ladies, if they identify themselves when they grow up, will only ever be looked upon as 'those Henson girls'... the media, and the general public have caused more humiliation, shame and disgust onto these girls than Henson ever EVER could.

I agree this wont go anywhere in court - I said as much in my post above.

You represent the type of thinking that I hope and pray my 12 year old daughter develops a healthy distrust for.
Bow MY head in shame - unbelievable.

Something to consider.

The Art Gallery of NSW had a Bill Henson retrospective a few years back that 65,000 people viewed and not one complaint, the Newcastle Regional Art gallery has a selection of his work that the good Burghers of Newcastle City Council viewed and approved, now they've been seized by the Police. Most Councillors are usually pretty conservative types.

I'm no huge fan of Bill Henson's work and the little I've seen (and I've only seen what the rest of you have seen in the papers of this latest exhibition) can sometimes make me uncomfortable, which is probably what he is aiming at, but calling him a Rockspider and his work kiddy porn is silly. The way it is staged, lighting, composition, etc is no more porn than calling 'Debbie Does Dallas' art.....

A well known and often quoted critic and dealer that I personally know has seen the entire exhibition before it opened and was seized and reckoned it was all above board.
BTW, he should know the law, he was a criminal lawyer in a previous life

Originally Posted by rick130

Something to consider.

The Art Gallery of NSW had a Bill Henson retrospective a few years back that 65,000 people viewed and not one complaint, the Newcastle Regional Art gallery has a selection of his work that the good Burghers of Newcastle City Council viewed and approved, now they've been seized by the Police. Most Councillors are usually pretty conservative types.

I'm no huge fan of Bill Henson's work and the little I've seen (and I've only seen what the rest of you have seen in the papers of this latest exhibition) can sometimes make me uncomfortable, which is probably what he is aiming at, but calling him a Rockspider and his work kiddy porn is silly. The way it is staged, lighting, composition, etc is no more porn than calling 'Debbie Does Dallas' art.....

A well known and often quoted critic and dealer that I personally know has seen the entire exhibition before it opened and was seized and reckoned it was all above board.
BTW, he should know the law, he was a criminal lawyer in a previous life

Well written Rick.

Originally Posted by rick130

Something to consider.

The Art Gallery of NSW had a Bill Henson retrospective a few years back that 65,000 people viewed and not one complaint, the Newcastle Regional Art gallery has a selection of his work that the good Burghers of Newcastle City Council viewed and approved, now they've been seized by the Police. Most Councillors are usually pretty conservative types.

I'm no huge fan of Bill Henson's work and the little I've seen (and I've only seen what the rest of you have seen in the papers of this latest exhibition) can sometimes make me uncomfortable, which is probably what he is aiming at, but calling him a Rockspider and his work kiddy porn is silly. The way it is staged, lighting, composition, etc is no more porn than calling 'Debbie Does Dallas' art.....

A well known and often quoted critic and dealer that I personally know has seen the entire exhibition before it opened and was seized and reckoned it was all above board.
BTW, he should know the law, he was a criminal lawyer in a previous life

Funny thing is how many people are familiar with Bill Henson's work or know or Bill Henson over the last 30 odd yrs? How much money has he made from his art?

How much more has Debby does Dallas grossed over the last 30 odd yrs?

Originally Posted by incisor

your a real keyboard warrior dobbo, no doubt about it...

I must admit that has actually got to me.

Just to add to the morass above. I have a copy of the invitation to the opening sitting on my desk, and my wife curated Bill Henson into the exhibition that we took to Hobart earlier this year.

I've got a postcard print of one of his pictures on the fridge that has been there for about ten years, that has never drawn comment.

And I'd consider myself deadset lucky if I could afford to own one of his photographs. It was a near thing with the exhibition that toured to Hobart, the picture my wife wanted didn't look like it was available, and I suggested - couldn't afford it, but that isn't the point - that we buy a print of the one she wanted and loan it to the exhibition.

Guys, go to the gallery website here:
Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery - Sydney, Australia
or here:
Bill Henson - Bill Henson, 2008 - Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery

And have a look at the photographs you are talking about.

Cheers
Simon

Originally Posted by stevo68

.......and considering that common law is based on what the average persons thinks, believes etc, ........

Sorry, that is not what the common law is - the common law is the accumulated legal decisions made over the last few hundred years. It is superseded by statute law where it applies, but this is interpreted in the light of these accumulated decisions. In this case, statute law applies, since there has been recent legislation on the subject. What the average person thinks or believes has no relevance whatever, unless it is specifically referred to in the statutes.

John

Originally Posted by dobbo

sticks and stones may break my bones

Images of young girls angers me

And your signature is really offensive mate... !! How about cleaning that up too. My young son frequents this list and frankly your signature about vibrators pleasing so many at once is over the top.... this is a family list!

I don't know how many of you saw the news item tonight, but the Australian Medical Association has proposed that films and other performances depicting smoking should be censored. You could make a much better case for censoring these than for censoring Henson's work, as there is much more evidence that they result in harm to children than does Henson's photography.

I am not in favour of censorship in either case, although I recognise that tobacco is the largest cause of preventable death in Australia today.

But it is a strange feature of our society that we would penalise much more heavily the mere possession of images of a child doing something perfectly legal (remember that the age of consent is 16, or even lower in some states in some circumstances, but a picture of this is child pornography if the participant is under 18) than we would the supply of tobacco (or even illegal drugs) to that same teenager, even though we know that this is likely to be fatal in the long term.

John