Don’t Go Public With Your Pubics

We’re all used to hearing about galleries copping flak for exhibiting works that the morality police would rather didn’t exist, but when the censorship comes from the galleries themselves you’ve got to wonder who’s leading who in the art world.

Last month London’s Mall Galleries, run by the Federation of British Artists, pulled this portrait by Leena McCall from the 153rd Annual Society For Women Artists exhibition they were holding:

No specific reason was given to McCall when she was informed of the decision to remove the work, but the Federation said they had received complaints and “as an educational arts charity, the Federation has a responsibility to its Trustees and to the children and vulnerable adults who use its Galleries and Learning Centre.”

It seems Ms Ruby May’s pubic hair is to blame. There was a time when the fur collar that most offended was the one around the subject’s neck, but on this occasion dead animal is fine. A hairy lady beaver on the other hand? My god, protect the children!

I’m not a big fan of a bushy outcrop either, but only because it’s not my personal preference. I couldn’t care less if anyone else sprouted one. I certainly don’t see it as anything other than the ultimate in natural living. At least she’s saving money on wax strips, razors and depilatory creams unlike the rest of us.

The irony in this decision though is that, as an educational charity, the Federation of British Artists would probably be in full support of taking a group of kids across the English Channel to visit The Louvre in Paris. You know, that massive museum full of naked sculptures of ancient Greeks and Romans, and paintings of every woman’s boobs in history?

Evidently a bit of Classical cock is far less threatening than a hint of Contemporary snatch…

Read more here.

Visit Leena McCall’s website here.