View all newsletters
Sign up to our newsletters

Support 110 years of independent journalism.

  1. Culture
3 November 2008updated 12 Oct 2023 9:47am

A load of Banksy?

By Ruth Collins

Taking liberties

In a week of controversy fuelled by the Brand-Ross duo, it seems pertinent to question the extent to which we should exercise our freedom of expression. Certainly, when Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi decided to fund the 1977 film The Message starring Anthony Quinn as the Prophet Mohammed, he never guessed that the film would have incited such violent public outrage. Protesting against its intention to visually represent their Prophet on screen, a dozen Muslims stormed three civic buildings in Washington. The captors took 150 people hostage and demanded that the movie be destroyed. The reality was that Quinn never appeared in the film as anything more than a voice from off-screen. In spite of the original controversy, Oscar Zoghbi has announced his plans to release a new version of the film entitled The Messenger of Peace, which will be set around the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

As shown in Ketan Mehta film The Colours of Passion, the legendary Indian painter Raja Ravi Varma also got himself into hot water when he depicted Hindu gods and goddesses in his paintings and was tried for blasphemy.

A more contemporary example of taking liberties is illustrated by Nicolas Sarkozy’s voodoo doll case. The French President recently lost a court case battle to take a voodoo doll in his likeness off the shop shelves. The court claimed that selling the voodoo doll was not against the law and fell within the parameters of “free expression” and the “right to humour”. Unfortunately for Sarkozy, he hasn’t seen the funny side.

Poland gets a taste of Albert Square

A Polish Soap opera entitled Londynczycy – Londoners – which premiered in Poland this week is designed to give Polish people a taste of how their fellow Poles are getting along over here in the UK. With more hype than Big Brother, the show has been dubbed as the Polish equivalent of Eastenders and the billboard advertising campaign features the slogan “Wielka Brytania, wielke nadzieje” (Great Britain, Great Expectations).

It remains to be seen whether expectations have been met.

Raphael’s Madonna restored to former glory

There was little hope for Raphael‘s Madonna of the Goldfinch (Madonna del Cardellino) when it was shattered into 17 pieces in 1547. Originally painted to mark the marriage of a prosperous wool merchant, Lorenzo Nasi, the painting was almost completely destroyed when their house collapsed 461 years ago. The masterpiece has now been repaired using nails to join up the fragments and paint to cover any fractures. The piece will be centre stage at Florence’s Palazzo Medici before returning to the city’s Uffizi Gallery.

Banksy isn’t everyone’s cup of tea

Banksy, the much-hyped “street artist”, ironically came up against a brick wall this week when Westminster council asked him to remove his latest mural from a wall in Newman Street. Despite the fact that the artist’s work has lined the likes of London’s Saatchi Gallery, the council has condemned the One Nation Under CCTV mural, saying it is as much an act of vandalism as any other graffiti. They have admitted that the work has artistic merit, just perhaps not on their patch.

Content from our partners
Development finance reform: the key to climate action
Individually rare, collectively common – how do we transform the lives of people with rare diseases?
Future proofing the NHS

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU