"Fucking for Jesus"? Massive yawn...a piece of shock value without substance. Like "Piss Christ" by Andres Serrano. Not created to make a statement. Just to push the envelope and offend Christians.

"Hmmm...let's see what I can do to piss people off? I know! I create a skit called 'Fucking for Jesus!' Tee-hee, I'm so clever."

Now, watch. Some lackwit will reply with something like, "Well, obviously he pissed you off, Patrick! Look how you're ranting and raving about it!" It doesn't piss me off. I just don't believe in shock for the sake of shock. I'm all for messages that piss people off if there's some point to it. But it's obvious the artist's purpose was to be offensive just so he point to his work as "cutting edge" and "controversial."

No. Just boring.

Well I'd object to the title of the skit just on princable. If they're jacking off to a paining it aint fucking, its masterbation

Fucking morons

Is this the Indian River College in Florida? I've noticed that these types of stories tend to pop up in conservative states more often than liberal ones. .. are they trying to follow social standards set by the blue states, but they don't quite "get" them? Or are they taking the PC thing over the top intentionally to discredit the liberal view point?

Is this like the people in Texas who wanted to ban Halloween because it was insulting to Wiccans, when in fact no Wiccans had complained, and ultimately it was fundies wanting to ban it for their own reasons?

I agree that shock for shock is stupid.

"at virtually the same time the school was hosting a skit called "Fucking for Jesus," a piece about jerking off to an oil painting of him:"

Thats not even really that much of an edgy criticism these days in my mind. The Southpark spoof with Cartman's Christian rock band being a good take on the over emotional/sexual view of Jesus in many modern churches and religious media.

My only memorable deal with religion and PC'ism in college was basically writing what the gal who taught Religion in Philosophy (or something like that). I wrote some essay about variuos faiths and put in how not all Muslims were bad and society gave them a bum rap. She wrote some one liner on the paper agreeing with it. I figured writing a bit more in depth opinion wouldn't have gotten me a better grade and been a waste of time better spent writing bad term papers for my history courses.

Luljp, of course they're morons. They're in college and thus know everything! :)

> Thats not even really that much of an
> edgy criticism these days in my mind.

A lot of people seem to think they'll never get any closer to heaven than believing (or at least alleging) that they're more sexually sophisticated than someone else. In this catechism "edgy" is comes right after "prissy".

From Western Michigan's athletic website:

"Men's Sports"
Baseball
Basketball (M)
Football
Hockey
Soccer (M)
Tennis (M)

"Women's Sports"
Basketball (W)
Cross Country
Golf (W)
Gymnastics (W)
Softball
Tennis (W)
Track and Field
Volleyball

Is the Athletic Department not aware of the "sexism" policy? I'll bet they even have signs on the rest room doors indicating that some are for men and others for women.

Their "Fast Facts" page lists enrollment (for "fall 2008) as including 12,018 men (48%) and 12,800 women (52%). If they're following the policy, how would they know?.

Chissa, Western Michigan is probably in the same jam as LSU. Justin Wilson once noted that the boys and girls at LSU use the same curriculum, and they routinely matriculate together.

What a den of iniquity!

But speech codes aren't just for colleges - they're for any place someone might be offended, like this Wal-Mart. The kid was arrested for saying, "All blacks need to leave the store" on the PA system.

Imagine what savage punishment he would have received for saying white people need to leave...

Ironic, isn't it? There was a time when public expressions of faith were expected and public expressions of blasphemy were banned. Now in some places it's the other way around.

Those of us who indulge in an occasional bout of blasphemy need to practice tolerance toward expressions of faith. The pendulum might swing again.

Shock art has been mass produced, commoditized, advertised, packaged up and sold off to the masses. Really, what would you find shocking and intellectually challenging today?

The so called centers of higher education have become breeding grounds for political correctness, liberal thinking points, and affirmative action.

it's just sad when college goes from a marketplace of ideas, to an indoctrination center of an idea. The Hare Krishnas used to set up their tables right next to the campus crusaders for Christ at CU... but now they are prolly both banned...

I haven't thought or heard about the Hare Krishnas for years. I used to enjoy them parading around Laguna Beach with their tambourines and drums....

Patrick is dead on the money on this one.

I'm all for art...good art, hell I don't even have an objection to art that is "shocking"...if it has a message.

If you want to see great shock art, look up the painting, "The War as I Saw It", painted about WWI. Truly a remarkable painting, it grabs the eyes and holds you to it. That is what "shocking" should mean in reference to art, a powerful and evocative message, stunning and remarkable talented renderings, a whole host of virtues that leaves one saying, "This is remarkable" even if one doesn't care for the message, or the artist.

Fucking for Jesus? Seriously?

The problem with most modern art is that is funded by a committee spending tax dollars...by itself this wouldn't be a bad thing. But art by comittee is not as a rule, very good. Thus, what gets approved for funding needn't have much actual merit, its all very subjective.

Again...this might not be such a horrible thing, except what does it lead to?

Art goes from being a truly elite field in which talent recieved funding, shows, exposure, and those remarkable few were able to influence the creative souls of the next wave of brilliant creative minds, and create an enduring legacy...to what it is now.

Every two bit hack who can throw something together that will shock or insult the people whose tax dollars paid for the craptastic "art" looks for public funding, university funding provided by students, or other such sources, calls themselves an artist and claims their art sucks because its "cutting edge" and we're just not sophisticated enough to recognize the genius of it all.

Warhol was right. Art is dead.

He proved that with the soup can.

Art has been "dead" for years, decades, centuries. Robert Heinlein lamented in Stranger in a Strange Land that every idiot with a blowtorch and astigmatism can call himself a sculptor...

But to be honest, there are still remarkable works produced, and "tax money" paid the masters of old. Every generation has its critics claiming that what they think is modern is trash.

I still think Jackson Pollack's a fraud. Splatter? Art? Your medication has gone bad...

In the past, we had the Acropolis, designed to a degree unfathomable to most. Today we mass-produce computer chips with switches five atoms thick, reliably - so we can argue on-line. They are also unfathomable to most.

WOW! That guy Max Ferguson is incredible. I particularly like "Time". Skill is definitely an understatement. They paintings look more like expertly taken photographs.

My favorite Kurt Vonnegut book was loosely based around the modern art community- I highly as possible recommend "Bluebeard".

OMG Radwaste I love you.

Yes, so much modern art I look at and think, "The emperor is buck naked and I can see his hair in places I don't wanna".

Some of it is kinda cool... but rarely does it blow my mind. "Neat-o!!!" is not an expression of awe.

A few thoughts....
Jackson Polluck was a fraud, in 7th Grade I was, and still am, a terrible artist. The assignment was to pick an artist and write a package on them, including making a piece of art in their style. 5 minutes of work and the "art" was complete.

My wife and I have a very sexist relationship, I open her jars...

Love this one as well- it reminds me of my uncles in Scotland who had a butcher shop...

http://maxferguson.com/exhibit.html

We need more art blogposts Amy! The fucking internet is getting soooooo depressing. Have you heard from your homeless friend that you haven't blogged about for a while?

Here's the first story about Gary.

It's pretty cool. And you can find his page (courtesy of Amy and Jacki) at musselmanart.typepad.com.

Don't know how happy he'll be in Illinois after sleeping under the stars in Venice... I hope he makes it!

Having known many people who have been victims of speech codes and been involved with one peripherally, it's become clear to me that university administrators don't necessarily want to ban speech they disagree with...they just want to make it such a pain to conform that these causes will simply go elsewhere.

To have to jump through hoops, send extra forms, consult a lawyer, make appeals, provide insurance for your display, be delegitimized in front of your peers, etc. -- people just figure, screw it, not worth my time.

And that's why, when this stuff happens, we ought to hammer these bureaucrats -- these paid agents of the state -- so hard that they never dare try it again.

I'm all for art...good art, hell I don't even have an objection to art that is "shocking"...if it has a message.

Apparently, a German soldier asked Picasso about "Guernica", if he did this. Picasso replied, "No, you did this." I'm not always a Picasso fan, but that painting is devastating in person. Worth the entire admission price to the Reina Sophia museum.

"Apparently, a German soldier asked Picasso about "Guernica", if he did this..."

Read another Picasso story. Apparently, he was chatting with some GIs after the liberation of Paris in WWII. One of them complained that his paintings weren't realistic. Picasso asked him if he had a picture of his girl back home, which the GI proudly showed him. "Is she really so small as that?" he asked.

Nowadays the people who are trying to shock the Bourgeoisie are bourgeois themselves.