Australian newspaper defend its right to call Crumb a pervert

Amplify’d from www.dailytelegraph.com.au

The Robert Crumb controversy: What happened to freedom of speech?

For artists, it's the ancient tale. Picasso was regarded as a dirty old perv by politicians. aacÉdouard Manet was pilloried for his casually erotic nudes. Francisco de Goya, Caravaggio, Andy Warhol, Tracey Emin: they all felt the heat. Crumb's 'rape fantasy' cartoons are, actually, often about strong women turning the tables on men: one victim terrifies an attacker by leaping into a crazily sexy pose. Most 15-year-old boys you know would find it hilarious and titillating, along with Crumb's gags about farts. Rape victims - and women generally - are probably less likely to appreciate the joke. This is the principal occupational hazard of art: not everybody is going to like it. Crumb might be tartly honest about his youthful screwed-upness, but he doesn't pretend to be surprised when people object to the notion of women as vaginas-on-legs or his depictions of African Americans as big-lipped golliwogs. He set out to shock.

Funny, I thought civilisation was about everyone being allowed to have a say. I don't think anyone wants to hurt Crumb. But plenty of people want to express a view about his work. Some of them don't like it. Is that so shocking? Read more at www.dailytelegraph.com.au

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