I agree that NOT showing the artist’s impression of Jacob Zuma’s lunch box is a good thing, especially when it comes to the type of person who reads MyPE – good solid upstanding citizens with families who are of morally sound inclination and abhor human rights abuse is how I like to think of those who do so on a regular basis. Of course the Longhair’s sister and her husband also read MyPE on occasion – it is a free world so I have to let them!
So, when I pasted an image of The Spear on MyPE I deemed it necessary to place the equivalent of a Scope Magazine Star over our president’s lunch box – those with excellent eyesight will be able to read the rather clever strap line on the lunch box for themselves.
For those youngsters who never had the privilege of living in a censored environment, Scope was a lads mag that featured women in various states of undress and in bikinis – if a nipple or, heaven forbid, anything else was featured it had to be covered with a star – hence men of a certain age having an absolute mammary fixation – see below for a pictorial illustration of the delights of the Scope Magazine Self Censorship era before the fall of apartheid and censorship:
Of course the internet has made censorship a tad more difficult as electronic images and ideas are being shared faster than ever.
The ‘moral’ victory that Comrade Gwede Mantashe has secured over the City Press to force the removal of our President’s lunch box is really a bit like farting against a gale as THAT image is still freely available on sites all over the world – not to mention being stored on probably millions of computers as well.
Two of those are: The Spear Lives On and Wikipedia.
Try a Google Image Search for Jacob Zuma, The Spear.
Alan Straton
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BuaNews reports:
A hearing by the Film and Publication Board (FPB), which will discuss the controversial painting that depicts President Jacob Zuma in an offensive manner, is underway in Pretoria.
The committee is expected to decide on the status of the painting after they received several written and telephonic complaints from the public, who found the portrait to be offensive.
According to the FPB, the committee will sit solely to hear representations from City Press, the Goodman Gallery and Avusa Media before it classifies the painting in line with the Film and Publications Act — a decision which could be known later today or tomorrow.
If classified, the portrait may neither be display nor may its copies be published on websites.
The FPB has already sent out a team of five classifiers to view and classify the portrait by Brett Murray, which was on display at the Goodman Gallery.
The hearing itself was postponed last week because the parties from City Press and the Goodman Gallery argued that they were not given enough time to prepare.
FPB CEO Yoliswa Makhasi recused herself from the hearing following a complaint from the City Press that she was biased.
The portrait has since been defaced by two men at the gallery, who are yet to appear in court. The gallery has also temporarily closed its doors to the public.
City Press editor Ferial Haffajee yesterday removed the picture of the portrait from the publication’s website.
Meanwhile, scores of ANC supporters have started arriving at Zoo Lake in Johannesburg to participate in the march to the Goodman Gallery in Rosebank.
Officials say police will keep an eye on the day’s proceedings.
Bua News Reports:
The ANC and the Goodman Gallery have reached an agreement in the matter of the Brett Murray portrait depicting President Jacob Zuma in an offensive manner.
As per the terms of the agreement, the ANC will withdraw its application currently before the South Gauteng High Court with no order as to costs.
The case, the ruling party had previously said, involved balancing two competing constitutional rights – the right to human dignity and the right to freedom of artistic expression.
The Goodman Gallery will no longer display the painting, which has been sold to a German collector.
The 1.85m-high painting, titled The Spear, was part of Murray’s Hail to the Thief II exhibition.
Gallery director Liza Essers said she regretted the pain that the display of the painting had caused the President and the nation.
Essers said the gallery and the artist had no intention of hurting or upsetting anyone, but understood that it did hurt people and the nation.
“It was never the Goodman Gallery or Brett Murray’s intention to hurt anyone or harm their dignity,” said Essers.
ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said they were happy that both Murray and the gallery had acknowledged this.
“The image has conjured up past historical hurt and humiliation for some people in our country,” he said, adding that SA had learnt lessons that would help the nation not to repeat the same mistake.