ARTS COUNCIL REFLECTS OUR COMMUNITY'S STANDARDS

Art appreciation is a subjective endeavor. Not everyone agrees what is pleasing, much less what qualifies as "art."

So it's not surprising that art galleries sometimes find themselves at odds with artists and the issue of free expression. The Southeast Missouri Council on the Arts decided to remove artwork from its last two exhibits. Board members felt the content might offend some patrons. The artist affected by the recent decision cried censorship.

The arts council acted responsibly. It is not a matter of censorship. The arts council has a duty to judge what is suitable for community standards.

It's not as if the arts council were acting prudish. Most of the current show features drawings of nudes. The two pieces excluded depicted a nude pre-adolescent girl. Two photographs were also excluded from the national show on display last month. One showed a nude child; the second pictured a man holding an armful of sexual devices.

It is art? Probably. It is appropriate for our community. Probably not.

To avoid future problems, the arts council is formulating a written policy about artwork it will exhibit. Board members say the policy will probably exclude works denigrating to women, children, religious or racial groups or exceedingly violent works. A specific policy will be developed this summer.

The written policy is a good idea. It probably won't make the artists involved feel any better, but it will give the arts council a base of support for its actions.

Rejection of the works on the basis of content is no reflection on the quality. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

The arts council is supported by tax dollars as well as private donations. That means its decisions must be responsive to community wishes. Operating from an ivory tower could cost an arts council financially.

This is not a matter of censorship. The arts council is not telling these artists to quit creating, or preventing their exhibition elsewhere. It must gear its standards to the viewing public, and that public may include small children. Their "audience" will be different than that of a university publication, which recently published the rejected drawings. A private gallery may have much different standards as well.

The Southeast Missouri Council on the Arts has presented a real range of artwork in its gallery over the years. The gallery has done a good job reflecting community standards in its shows. Much of the artwork has been exceptional. Some of the exhibits have prompted puzzled looks by patrons who wondered what constituted art. But through it all, few patrons have walked away offended. The arts council wants to make sure it stays that way.