The end of expression?

Nine to Five

While Paddington-based artists Gillie and Marc Schattner tend to focus on the mixture of animal and man, children became another focus when a sculpture made by the pair, titled Good Boy, was claimed to be offensive by parents who walked their children to school past the sculpture. Displayed at Richard Martin Art,the sculpture was placed on a ledge outside the gallery due to space restrictions. The sculpture, a nude man on all fours with the head of a dog, carries a 41cm penis.

“[The meaning behind the work] is all about going back to the simple things in life and being materialistic and just enjoying what’s right in front of you,” Gillie told NINETOFIVE. “We think that dog’s bring out our humanity and make us humans.”

Gillie said the sculpture, which has traveled around Australia, found the most controversy in Sydney. “Nude art has been around for centuries, there’s nothing wrong with a nude body. If you started censoring art it would hurt the arts. All artists need to be able to freely express themselves. So we say keep art accessible to the public, don’t censor it, and let them judge for themselves whether they like it or not.”

While the debate over artistic freedom and consorship continues, it’s clear that even the art world have differing opinions.> more