Bill Henson - photographer defamed

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR AGE NEWSPAPER REGARDING ARTICLE ON BILL HENSON

I read the article about Bill Henson exhibiting works of a ‘controversial’ nature wherein we learnt he was being accused of heinous crimes by a bunch of ‘concerned’ citizens.
Whilst there is no place in our society for anyone who takes advantage of the vulnerable, it must also be recognised that there are certain accusers for whom the world holds nothing but threats and problems about which they are forced to act through their own sense of indefatigable moral turpitude – or indeed just to create political advantage. It could also be said that the perceived threats to our collective well being lurk within the same minds which seem to relish the demeaning behaviour of people like Sam Newman and Gordon Ramsey.
I am currently sitting in bed with laptop surrounded by artworks including five nude women, one nude bloke [sans genitals thank God] and 10 frolicking maidens plus of course she who controls the boudoir resplendent. Add in two camel bedside lights and Jock, the stuffed bed minding dog with his own personality and you get the picture. There are the accusers out there for whom our bedroom would be akin to a Victorian Madam’s house of financial gain and finger point us for perceived crimes against their idea of the moral high ground. Right!
Some accusers can’t see beauty in an object because of their inability to disseminate art from the murky end of their own clouded mind. One day we may see the ‘offending’ art and make up our own minds.