Using social media can potentially make or break an emerging artist’s career. However, the increasing rules and regulations of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr can (and do) hinder an artist’s level of creative freedom.
The weeding out of “inappropriate” images, profanities, and overly controversial topics seem to be social media regulator’s primary concern. However, not only is the construct of what is “inappropriate” curiously subjective, it also does not take into account the expressive voice of artists. And perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this censorship is the extreme inconsistency in enforcing their regulations.
“Male nipples, the thong-clad asses that populate Dan Bilzerian’s feed, and posts of Kim Kardashian’s PAPER cover are allowed to stay, while female nipples, bare asses that don’t belong to Kim Kardashian, and even a Blue Period Picasso risk tripping the censors,” SaYS A Fader Magazine ARTICLE.
Art censorship has nearly as long of a history as art itself, from loin cloths being added to nude figures in Michelangelo’s The Last Judgement on the Sistine Chapel fresco, to Mayor Giuliani’s reaction to Damien Hirst’s formaldehyde series where he threatened to pull city funding from the Brooklyn Museum if they didn’t cease the exhibit.
However, it’s 2015, robots almost have feelings, dogs have their own Instagram accounts, and artists should be able to show a female nipple without having their access to social media banned. Here’s a few examples of ridiculous artistic censorship on social media:
Petra Collins
In 2013, young artist Petra Collins had her Instagram account deleted for posting the above image of herself in underwear, purely for having an unshaven bikini line. “No nudity, violence, pornography, unlawful, hateful, or infringing imagery. What I did have was an image of MY body that didn’t meet society’s standard of “femininity,'” said Collins in an interview. Currently, Collins has her Instagram account back and is going strong with 163k followers.
Rupi Kaur
Poetess and photographer, Rupi Kaur posts a steady flow of poems and artistic images on her Instagram page, which has 223k followers. A few months ago, a few of her images that were part of her ‘menstruation cycle’ collection were taken down multiple times by Instagram, stating that she was violating their terms of service. “I decided to choose menstruation [as the theme of my project] to try and demystify the stigmas around it […] After it was created I decided to share it online, as a part of the project, to see how different medias would embrace/reject it.” After a lot of negativie press, Instagram allowed the image to remain, which to date has over 80k likes and 14k comments (not to mentioned shares).
Anton Belovodchenko
Russian photographer, Anton Belovodchenko maintains an active profile on 500px, a website for photographers to share their work after being “blocked” from using Facebook for his nude content. While 500px allows nude photos, many of the image thumbnails are covered with a black “Mature Content” screen (you must consent you are “mature” enough to see the images). Unlike pornography, Belovodchenko captures the female form in a way that is either empowering or highly artistic, like the above blocked image. Obviously Facebook needs an updated lesson on the nude versus the naked.
Rachel Libeskind
Rachel is a mixed media and collage artist who occasionally uses images of body parts in her work and has had her artistic vision constantly combatted by social media. “I’ve had multiple artworks of mine removed, even if they just had a nipple pasted onto something else. I put up a Blue Period Picasso once and got my account suspended for that. Instagram doesn’t give a shit about violence, or about disgusting, empty images of females.”
Jerry Saltz
Famed New York Magazine art critic, Jerry Saltz has gained an impressive following on multiple social media platforms. His comical and sometimes critical posts have become an Internet sensation but due to a series of unfortunate events, he was suspended from using Facebook in March 2015. While no specific image was singled out, it is believed the censorship came in response to images he posted to push buttons in the art world. “A lot of people are taking their energy to police other people’s energy, and I find that a bit perverted — to enforce your morality on someone else,” said Mr. Saltz of the censorship. Currently Saltz is back on social media but seems to be preoccupied with poking fun at Donald Trump more so than the art world.