Friday, October 26, 2007

Nan Goldin Photo Ruled 'Not Indecent'

I have been following this story for a while and it looks like more rational heads have finally prevailed. Some would say this type of event is good because it advances public discourse about acceptable community standards, but I never find police raids and confiscations to be an effective opening statement in any debate. My question is does ruling something 'not indecent' mean it is in fact decent?
Elton John's Seized Goldin Photo Is `Not Indecent,' BBC Reports
Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Elton John's photograph of two girls by Nan Goldin, seized by police from an art exhibition last month, "is not an indecent image," the BBC said, citing the U.K. Crown Prosecution Service.

The photo, "Klara and Edda Belly-Dancing," was seized by Northumbria police from the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Newcastle, England, while on loan from the singer-songwriter. John said on his Web site that the work had been published around the world "without any objections of which we are aware" and auctioned twice by Sotheby's.

Goldin's 1998 picture, which had the title "Edda and Klara Belly-Dancing," sold for $3,000 in 2004 after failing to sell in 2002, Sotheby's said in an e-mail.

John, an art collector, owns thousands of photos by artists including Man Ray, Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Diane Arbus and Ansel Adams, according to his Web site. He bought Goldin's picture as part of the ``Thanksgiving'' series at London's White Cube gallery in 1999, he said.
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