Ответ адресата петиции
Ответ от School Of Visual Arts Photo Department
School Of Visual Arts Photo Department
13 Sept 2014
In many messages to me over the past week, the integrity of the department has been questioned and our sensitivity to the students’ scrutinized. As exhausting as this has been, it is a significant and relevant conversation that strikes at the core of our purpose.
I am proud of the photography department and this conversation, and I want to thank all of those who are contributing to it for their conviction and commitment.
Rape is a despicable and criminal act of cowardice. Sexual violence, emotional intimidation of any kind cannot be tolerated. In no way does the presence of the image in question compromise our concern and our interest in the emotional well-being of our students. The department does not endorse the act of rape, nor does it propose that rape is a humorous or frivolous activity. Trivializing sexual violence in a college context is especially problematic. Dolphin Rape Cave does not demonstrate or reveal the opinion of SVA or the department any more than any individual photograph would.
The walls of the photography building are a place for the community to display work without filter or administrative intervention. No prior judgment is made regarding works merit or aesthetic status. It is a completely democratic forum, with an underlying assumption of the communities tolerance and equilibrium.
As a department, we encourage and nurture the making of meaningful images, based on their individual agendas, experiences, ambitions, and occasionally work that addresses difficult social issues Often, this can result in provocative, indeed, wounded gestures. To prohibit the appearance of any image would sabotage this simple mandate.
There are many constituencies in a plural culture such as an art school, and based on individual ethics and sensitivities, material will and does offend. I am aware of Christian students, for instance, who are deeply uncomfortable with much of the work on the gallery walls, and we have all felt quesy at times in the classroom.
As the department chair, I take full responsibility for the decision to allow the work to remain, and to replace it after it had been vandalized—to preserve this fragile freedom. The School of Visual Arts as an institution has ratified this decision. We do not censor. SVA adheres to the right for a position to be expressed despite it offense and even if its intention is to offend. Our tolerance of the most vile and abject opinions are, even if they are mediocre or confused or simply created to incite mischief, is part of our responsibility to safeguard our own freedom to express our opinions.
This petition is a reflection of this sprit, and that we can formulate a coherent conversation about powerful images and language, and an opportunity to support a deeply complex discourse with respect and grace.
Stephen Frailey
Chair, BFA Photography Department
School of Visual Arts, New York
I am proud of the photography department and this conversation, and I want to thank all of those who are contributing to it for their conviction and commitment.
Rape is a despicable and criminal act of cowardice. Sexual violence, emotional intimidation of any kind cannot be tolerated. In no way does the presence of the image in question compromise our concern and our interest in the emotional well-being of our students. The department does not endorse the act of rape, nor does it propose that rape is a humorous or frivolous activity. Trivializing sexual violence in a college context is especially problematic. Dolphin Rape Cave does not demonstrate or reveal the opinion of SVA or the department any more than any individual photograph would.
The walls of the photography building are a place for the community to display work without filter or administrative intervention. No prior judgment is made regarding works merit or aesthetic status. It is a completely democratic forum, with an underlying assumption of the communities tolerance and equilibrium.
As a department, we encourage and nurture the making of meaningful images, based on their individual agendas, experiences, ambitions, and occasionally work that addresses difficult social issues Often, this can result in provocative, indeed, wounded gestures. To prohibit the appearance of any image would sabotage this simple mandate.
There are many constituencies in a plural culture such as an art school, and based on individual ethics and sensitivities, material will and does offend. I am aware of Christian students, for instance, who are deeply uncomfortable with much of the work on the gallery walls, and we have all felt quesy at times in the classroom.
As the department chair, I take full responsibility for the decision to allow the work to remain, and to replace it after it had been vandalized—to preserve this fragile freedom. The School of Visual Arts as an institution has ratified this decision. We do not censor. SVA adheres to the right for a position to be expressed despite it offense and even if its intention is to offend. Our tolerance of the most vile and abject opinions are, even if they are mediocre or confused or simply created to incite mischief, is part of our responsibility to safeguard our own freedom to express our opinions.
This petition is a reflection of this sprit, and that we can formulate a coherent conversation about powerful images and language, and an opportunity to support a deeply complex discourse with respect and grace.
Stephen Frailey
Chair, BFA Photography Department
School of Visual Arts, New York
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