by Peggy Molloy

Created on: March 21, 2008   Last Updated: January 02, 2011

The determining factor in whether or not Art That Mocks Faith is freedom of speech or slander, is who is paying for it. If the art is being supported by public funds, then I believe the artist owes respect to those who are paying the price, i.e. the taxpayers. If the art is being paid for by a patron or by the artist themselves, then it becomes open season.

I have never had a grant to create a project. The artists that I have known either have private funding, nicely termed "family money", or worked for an institution, such as a college or university system. I resent flagrant disregard for icons of faith, or welfare of children (pornography) issued to us under pretenses of freeing our minds from condescending persons, be they artists or not.

Art as a means of "mocking" is a new phenomena. Never before in history has mocking one's supporters been an option. If mocking the hand that feeds continues, we may all find ourselves under strict and marshaled laws for expression. What some people call freedom, I find tedious and an insult to the intelligence of most. Not everything is art worthy, Andy Warhol made his fortune showing us the mundane with new vision, and I like it. That was 40 years ago, now there is so much of the common mocking art values, that it can be difficult to be serious, or sincere. Our society has become sardonic, and expects so little that there is not much of a gap between the mock and the cheap.

Throughout history patrons of the arts have been leaders or from affluent families. This includes the churches, for example the collection of art in the Vatican is immeasurable in terms of market value. Trust me, no pope, no political leader or aristocratic heir would bother supporting arts that do not reflect a thread of morality. In previous eras, the elites had a sense of responsibility towards the masses, and it may not have been all bad. Now that freedom is more important than how expression affects the sensitive, the vulnerable, and the weak, there is a decisive drop in taste levels. P.T. Barnum did say that no-one has ever lost a dime under-estimating the taste of the American public. Now that we have so many self-proclaimed artists, I think there needs to be a new look at how art is created, and interpreted.

I do believe that overall morality has a place in our public institutions, and that deciding boards have every right to address such values. If I gave out a grant only to be insulted by the outcome of the project, I would not write another check. I think as tax-payers we have every right to complain and be respected by our views on personal expression.

Learn more about this author, Peggy Molloy.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.