SoCrates

I think that what constitutes metal is really going to be at the core of the debate. We have seen new forms of ‘metal’ trends gain mainstream popularity over the last 10 years. Think Emo. However, much of the metal community would say that this isn’t metal at all, it is weak and goes against everything that metal stands for (myself included). So although metal may become mainstream, the capacity in which it manifests is always highly contested.

Good article with an interesting critical lens. I do enjoy art that pushes the limits, however, children are always going to be the most controversial topic, particularly in photography. I believe this is rightfully and justifiably so. This series attempts to use the children’s nudity to explore concepts that only adults can really comprehend. By playing to the idea that it is society that imposes certain taboos on the human form, I do find this to be contradictory as it does just that through the exploitation of her children. This is very different to naked photos in family albums. This was made for an international audience. I feel this is indeed coming back to artists wanting to push the limits for the sake of it. For me pieces like this just enforce societal ideas of sexuality and in fact play to the wider capitalist and neoliberal paradigm. The artist is looking to advance her work, standing and notoriety at any cost, not taking the agency of her children into account. We live in a world full of really sick people, so putting something like this out there is going to cause controversy. The artist knew this and played to it for her own benefit. In my opinion. For the children themselves I think this also has the potential to affect them negatively. Imagine your school peers finding a series of naked photographs of you?

the realm of abstraction is so broad and diverse that writing about it becomes rather precarious. Speaking about abstract art as a genre is strange in the sense that, for example, a work which consists of a line on a blank canvas has almost no relation to a complex abstract installation piece. I personally think that like all genres of art abstract art has the ability to go from some very average and self-indulgent ego stroking to deep explorations of the human condition. I think we must be weary of falling victim to being afraid to dislike a piece of art.