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Iowa man faces 20 years in prison for Loli manga
A friend sent me an editorial about a man in Iowa who is currently facing 20 years in jail for possessing "obsene" manga ordered from Japan. The article doesn't give much details, just goes on about how this is totally wrong. My friend, an otaku herself, told me that the manga is apparently a Loli comic. She's very much against the regulation of art, and so am I, to an extent.
It seems that many people don't understand how illustrations or drawings can cause such a problem, but I have to wonder how this guy thought ordering Loli would be considered legal when possession of child pornography or "obscene images of children, no matter how they are made." Yes, that is a US law as of June 2007. So there's the problem that the defendant just isn't clear on the legality of pedophilic content -- no matter how sugarcoated it may be. People are terribly delicate and afraid, and if you guys haven't noticed, this country (the United States) is terrified of pedophiles. Schools have been erecting fences and gates to keep out sexual deviants while the news and advertising agencies feed our paranoia. Children are taught not to speak to strangers, parents must be vigilant at all times. It's really a frenzy out there that has prevailed for decades, though not completely unwarranted because -- let's face it -- there are some sick freaks out there.
I am personally not a fan of Lolicon, but some of it is less explicit than others, and in such cases I would not support censorship. As a whole, however, *bleep* bothers me. No, I don't mean seeing a 22-year-old dating a 17-year-old. It's usually more drastic cases. I can understand how this would anger even non-anime or manga fans because it is quite relevant to censorship and silencing art, some would say.
So what if it's an image or illustration of murder? Should that be censored because murder is bad? Or what if it's an old stone carving of Zeus as a swan or bull seducing one of his mortal lovers?
To that, I say the line falls on eroticism. We've seen in the post, demonstrated on this very blog, how afraid we are, as a society, of sexuality. An image of menstrual blood was enough to warrant Supermod intervention and others to attack my validity as an artist. Again, this is sexuality, not eroticism (unless menstrual fluid turns you on). It is widely understood that murder is wrong, and most would not gaze upon an illustration of a beheading, war, or Zeus' lust and be sexually aroused by them. With Lolicon and other pedophilic media, the line between art and smut is blurred by those who would glean some sexual gratification from it, thus transforming the images into erotica. Just look at the origins of Lolicon and the story it was named after -- Lolita, in which a man becomes sexually obsessed with a 12-year-old girl.
Nothing explicit, only a quiet and unsettling suggestion, not unlike a few of Bill Henson's photographs.
To be clear, I do not approve of Lolicon because it just rubs me the wrong way. Saying that I find it repulsive would not be an exaggeration. While freedom of expression is important, there are certain boundaries that I'm just not comfortable with crossing. In this trial, I can see where the slope gets slippery. What if the man, Chris Handley, is prosecuted and goes to jail? What's to prevent the verdict from sparking witch hunts against other forms of media and art?
Michiko Magaoko, director of Juvenile Guide, found that approximately half of the 2,000 pornographic animation (hentai) titles in 2003 featured school girl characters. Mitsui Kondo of the Osaka-based Child Protection Agency once said:
musingsthoughts neoseeker related lolita manga censorship lolicon
It seems that many people don't understand how illustrations or drawings can cause such a problem, but I have to wonder how this guy thought ordering Loli would be considered legal when possession of child pornography or "obscene images of children, no matter how they are made." Yes, that is a US law as of June 2007. So there's the problem that the defendant just isn't clear on the legality of pedophilic content -- no matter how sugarcoated it may be. People are terribly delicate and afraid, and if you guys haven't noticed, this country (the United States) is terrified of pedophiles. Schools have been erecting fences and gates to keep out sexual deviants while the news and advertising agencies feed our paranoia. Children are taught not to speak to strangers, parents must be vigilant at all times. It's really a frenzy out there that has prevailed for decades, though not completely unwarranted because -- let's face it -- there are some sick freaks out there.
I am personally not a fan of Lolicon, but some of it is less explicit than others, and in such cases I would not support censorship. As a whole, however, *bleep* bothers me. No, I don't mean seeing a 22-year-old dating a 17-year-old. It's usually more drastic cases. I can understand how this would anger even non-anime or manga fans because it is quite relevant to censorship and silencing art, some would say.
So what if it's an image or illustration of murder? Should that be censored because murder is bad? Or what if it's an old stone carving of Zeus as a swan or bull seducing one of his mortal lovers?
To that, I say the line falls on eroticism. We've seen in the post, demonstrated on this very blog, how afraid we are, as a society, of sexuality. An image of menstrual blood was enough to warrant Supermod intervention and others to attack my validity as an artist. Again, this is sexuality, not eroticism (unless menstrual fluid turns you on). It is widely understood that murder is wrong, and most would not gaze upon an illustration of a beheading, war, or Zeus' lust and be sexually aroused by them. With Lolicon and other pedophilic media, the line between art and smut is blurred by those who would glean some sexual gratification from it, thus transforming the images into erotica. Just look at the origins of Lolicon and the story it was named after -- Lolita, in which a man becomes sexually obsessed with a 12-year-old girl.
Nothing explicit, only a quiet and unsettling suggestion, not unlike a few of Bill Henson's photographs.
To be clear, I do not approve of Lolicon because it just rubs me the wrong way. Saying that I find it repulsive would not be an exaggeration. While freedom of expression is important, there are certain boundaries that I'm just not comfortable with crossing. In this trial, I can see where the slope gets slippery. What if the man, Chris Handley, is prosecuted and goes to jail? What's to prevent the verdict from sparking witch hunts against other forms of media and art?
Michiko Magaoko, director of Juvenile Guide, found that approximately half of the 2,000 pornographic animation (hentai) titles in 2003 featured school girl characters. Mitsui Kondo of the Osaka-based Child Protection Agency once said:
"Such a situation makes our society more dangerous to girls... We've got to think about it before talking about freedom of expression."
musingsthoughts neoseeker related lolita manga censorship lolicon
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Artist Profile: Michelangelo
Michelangelo Buonarroti
In this blog, i'll be showcasing just a few of Michelangelos accomplishments during his time as a masterful renaissance painter. Below each painting you will notice a description and/or story. I got these descriptions from this website. Give it a look, and you'll notice it's filled with great information about Michelangelo's entire life. Also, check out The Digital Michelangelo Project, they have some weird stuff happening on that website. haha. Modern technology and Michelangelo, does it fit? Enjoy.
David
- The high point of Michelangelo's early style is the gigantic (4.34 m/ 14.24 ft) marble David (Accademia, Florence), which he produced between 1501 and 1504, after returning to Florence. The character of David and what he symbolizes, was perfectly in tune with Michelangelo's patriotic feelings. At the time, Florence was going through a difficult period, and its citizens had to be alert and mobilized to confront permanent threats. He used David as a model of heroic courage, in the hope that the Florentines would understand his message. This young Biblical hero demonstrated that inner spiritual strength can prove to be more effective than arms. His faith in God ("The Lord is my strength and my shield.") enabled this young shepherd to overcome Israel's enemies, using a mere sling, which is the only element in the composition enabling us to identify the figure of David.
Michelangelo chose to represent David as an athletic, manly character, very concentrated and ready to fight. The extreme tension is evident in his worried look and in his right hand, holding a stone. The meaning of this David becomes fully clear if we take into consideration the historical circumstances of its creation. Michelangelo was devoted to the Republic, and wanted each citizen to become aware of his responsibilities and commit himself to accomplishing his duty.
Michelangelo wrote in his diaries: "When I returned to Florence, I found myself famous. The City Council asked me to carve a colossal David from a nineteen-foot block of marble -- and damaged to boot! I locked myself away in a workshop behind the cathedral, hammered and chiseled at the towering block for three long years. In spite of the opposition of a committee of fellow artists, I insisted that the figure should stand before the Palazzo Vecchio, as a symbol of our Republic. I had my way. Archways were torn down, narrow streets widened...it took forty men five days to move it. Once in place, all Florence was astounded. A civic hero, he was a warning...whoever governed Florence should govern justly and defend it bravely. Eyes watchful...the neck of a bull...hands of a killer...the body, a reservoir of energy. He stands poised to strike."
With this statue Michelangelo proved to his contemporaries that he not only surpassed all modern artists, but also the Greeks and Romans, by infusing formal beauty with powerful expressiveness and meaning.
Sistine Chapel
- In April 1508, Michelangelo was summoned back to Rome by Julius II, but he was still not able to start on the papal tomb. In fact Julius II had a new job for him: painting twelve figures of apostles and some decorations on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Buonarroti, who had always regarded himself as a sculptor, would now have to perfect the art of fresco. It seems that the pope had been advised to make this move by Bramante and other artists working at his court, who did not take kindly to Michelangelo's presence: "And this thing they did with malice, to distract the pope from matters of sculpture; and since they were sure that he, either by not accepting this undertaking, would turn the pope against him, or by accepting it would do much less creditable work than Raphael of Urbino, to whom, out of hatred for Michelangelo, they gave every support."
At first, Buonarroti tried to turn down the commission, but in vain. And then, during the realization of the work, that mysterious liking that the artist and the pope had, at bottom, for one another yielded its fruit. Julius II let himself be swayed by Michelangelo's creative frenzy, and both were carried away by their enthusiasm over more and more ambitious plans. So, Michelangelo was given carte blanche: by October 31st, 1512, he had painted over 300 figures on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
In May 1508, Michelangelo began to make the preparatory designs for the Sistine ceiling. It was not until the fall that he started the actual painting, calling on the assistance of Giuliano Bugiardini, Aristotele da Sangallo, and his old friend Francesco Granacci, along with a number of laborers.
However the work did not proceed as the master wished, and he soon fired all of his assistants, removed what had already been painted and, between the end of 1508 and January 1509, recommenced the whole demanding enterprise on his own. Condivi recalls that "as a result of having painted for so long a time, keeping his eyes fixed on the ceiling, he saw little when he looked down; if he had to read a letter or some other small thing, he was obliged to hold it above his head."
Extremely jealous of his work, he refused to show it to anyone but the pope, though the latter was always insisting that he finish it quickly, and often climbed the scaffolding to see how the fresco was proceeding. The pressure on the artist was such that he uncovered it in August 1511, even before it was finished. The sight of these highly original paintings made a great impression on the artists of the time. Raphael, who was painting the nearby Stanze, was so influenced by them that his own style altered as a result, becoming more plastic and sculptural as the decoration proceeded.
The project was physically and emotionally torturous for Michelangelo. Michelangelo recounts its effect on him with these words: "After four tortured years, more than 400 over life-sized figures, I felt as old and as weary as Jeremiah. I was only 37, yet friends did not recognize the old man I had become."
Working high above the chapel floor, on scaffolding, Michelangelo painted, between 1508 and 1512, some of the finest pictorial images of all time. On the vault of the papal chapel, he devised an intricate system of decoration that included nine scenes from the Book of Genesis, beginning with God Separating Light from Darkness and including the Creation of Adam and Eve, the Temptation and Fall of Adam and Eve, and the Flood. These centrally located narratives are surrounded by alternating images of prophets and sibyls (Libyan, Erythraean) on marble thrones, by other Old Testament subjects, and by the ancestors of Christ. In order to prepare for this enormous work, Michelangelo drew numerous figure studies and cartoons, devising scores of figure types and poses. These awesome, mighty images, demonstrating Michelangelo's masterly understanding of human anatomy and movement, changed the course of painting in the West.
Moses
- Before the assignment of the Sistine Ceiling in 1505, Michelangelo had been commissioned by Julius II to produce his tomb, which was planned to be the most magnificent of Christian times. It was to be located in the new Basilica of St. Peter's, then under construction. Michelangelo enthusiastically went ahead with the challenging project, which was to include more than 40 figures, spending months in the quarries to obtain the necessary Carrara marble. Due to a mounting shortage of money, however, the pope ordered him to put aside the tomb project in favor of painting the Sistine ceiling.
When Michelangelo went back to work on the tomb, he redesigned it on a much more modest scale. Nevertheless, Michelangelo made some of his finest sculpture for the Julius Tomb, including the Moses (c. 1515), the central figure in the much-reduced monument now located in Rome's church of San Pietro in Vincoli. The muscular patriarch sits alertly in a shallow niche, holding the tablets of the Ten Commandments, his long beard entwined in his powerful hands. He looks off into the distance as if communicating with God.
Two other superb statues, the Bound Slave and the Dying Slave (both c. 1510-13), Louvre, Paris), demonstrate Michelangelo's approach to carving. He conceived of the figure as being imprisoned in the block (Third Captive). By removing the excess stone, the form was released. Here, as is frequently the case with his sculpture, Michelangelo left the statues unfinished (non-finito), either because he was satisfied with them as is, or because he no longer planned to use them.
Pieta
- Loneliness and sorrow were Michelangelo's companions in the last years of his life. His younger friends, Vittoria Colonna and Luigi del Riccio were already dead, and in 1556 his faithful servant Urbino died too. In this period, he insistently produced studies and drawings of the Crucifixion and the Lament over the Dead Christ.
They were also the years of his last sculptures, including the Florentine Pietà , carved for his own tomb. Dissatisfied with his work, Michelangelo attacked the sculpture with a hammer, breaking off a leg and an arm from the figure of Christ and one of the Virgin Mary's hands. Another sculpture the so-called Rondanini Pietà , consisting solely of the figures of the Madonna and Christ, may have been begun by Michelangelo before 1550 but had remained unfinished.
Now his friends - we are told by Vasari - had asked him to start work on it again "so that he could continue using his chisel everyday." Still perfectly lucid, the almost ninety-year-old Michelangelo created one of his most spiritual images, in which the Mother and Christ almost interpenetrate in an indissoluble union, beyond passion and physical death.
other musingsthoughts michelangelo art painting history
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Third Identities on the Ice
If you're anything like me, you're always fascinated and excited about new jerseys. Especially after the 06-07 NHL season where new, RBK fitted jerseys, many teams had decided to edit or completely revamp their team logos. And that means one thing: New season - New jerseys. 
Only until recently, teams have been adapting to their new emblems, adapting to their new persona's, new identities per se. Teams have been getting used to their already brand new home and away jerseys and now comes the third, alternate jerseys where things get interesting...
btw, this is no fashion show.
Atlanta Thrashers - With team colors of brownish-red and navy blue, this minimalist jersey dons the team's shoulder emblem on their regular home/away jerseys (seen here) proud on their chests.
Boston Bruins - One of the original 6, this jersey takes on a new, yet vintage look on earlier Bruins jerseys with a nice finishing black.
Buffalo Sabres - Not forgetting their roots, the Sabres take on one of their infamous throwback jerseys.
Carolina Hurricanes - Seen sporting their shoulder emblem (from their reg home/away jerseys) on their chests, they hold a sleek yet dominant black surrounding.
LA Kings - Vintage seems to be the fad this year and the Kings fail to disappoint. With a new look from an old logo (seen here) with also a mix of their purple jerseys (seen here the Kings bare a familiar, yet new look from the past.
Ottawa Senators - With a brand new look, the Senators are back in black with this sleek jersey with red and white surroundings.
Phoenix Coyotes - Still baring the team colors, the Coyotes manage to create a nice new look for the franchise with a simple coyote with a nice black finish.
Pittsburgh Penguins - Another take on a vintage jersey, the Penguins try to bring back their winning ways with old timer jerseys.
lulz, looks like Sid has to take a huge dump
St. Louis Blues - No, it's not the Buffalo Sabres, it's St. Louis' new look for the season. With the familiar emblem on the chest, the Blues have a sleek blue, white and yellow finish.
Tampa Bay Lightning - And no, it's not a KHL team, it's the "Bolts"'s new jersey. With a simple blue, grey and black jersey, with a new take on the team name across the chest.
Vancouver Canucks - No one can ever forget the Canucks' old logo they used for decades and decades. With a very conservative look, they will sure to please old timer Canuck fans.
other
Only until recently, teams have been adapting to their new emblems, adapting to their new persona's, new identities per se. Teams have been getting used to their already brand new home and away jerseys and now comes the third, alternate jerseys where things get interesting...
btw, this is no fashion show.
Atlanta Thrashers - With team colors of brownish-red and navy blue, this minimalist jersey dons the team's shoulder emblem on their regular home/away jerseys (seen here) proud on their chests.
Boston Bruins - One of the original 6, this jersey takes on a new, yet vintage look on earlier Bruins jerseys with a nice finishing black.
Buffalo Sabres - Not forgetting their roots, the Sabres take on one of their infamous throwback jerseys.
Carolina Hurricanes - Seen sporting their shoulder emblem (from their reg home/away jerseys) on their chests, they hold a sleek yet dominant black surrounding.
LA Kings - Vintage seems to be the fad this year and the Kings fail to disappoint. With a new look from an old logo (seen here) with also a mix of their purple jerseys (seen here the Kings bare a familiar, yet new look from the past.
Ottawa Senators - With a brand new look, the Senators are back in black with this sleek jersey with red and white surroundings.
Phoenix Coyotes - Still baring the team colors, the Coyotes manage to create a nice new look for the franchise with a simple coyote with a nice black finish.
Pittsburgh Penguins - Another take on a vintage jersey, the Penguins try to bring back their winning ways with old timer jerseys.
lulz, looks like Sid has to take a huge dump
St. Louis Blues - No, it's not the Buffalo Sabres, it's St. Louis' new look for the season. With the familiar emblem on the chest, the Blues have a sleek blue, white and yellow finish.
Tampa Bay Lightning - And no, it's not a KHL team, it's the "Bolts"'s new jersey. With a simple blue, grey and black jersey, with a new take on the team name across the chest.
Vancouver Canucks - No one can ever forget the Canucks' old logo they used for decades and decades. With a very conservative look, they will sure to please old timer Canuck fans.
other
chautemoc blogged