The Irish Examiner is not the only Irish newspaper to raise questions about the official over-reaction to the satirical portraits of Brian Cowen which were hung in two of our major Dublin galleries.
The police have visited Conor Casby, the artist, (no images available) and have removed other portraits of leading politicians from his studio. They have also visited a radio station looking for e-mails.
Why wasn’t the response so swift when the government learned of dubious banking practices?
Fergus O'Donoghue, SJ is editor of Studies: an Irish Quarterly Review.
5 responses so far ↓
ainelivia // March 26, 2009 at 11:22 am
Hear, hear on the dubious banking practices.
Irish Government Censorship in full swing.
Perhaps the answer to all this is to have senior government ministers psychoanalysed to see if they are actually fit for purpose. And perhaps to sort out their ego problems, if not their weight problems.
degreezero1961 // March 26, 2009 at 1:47 pm
This is the hub of the matter, and (pace Póló in the comments of the last post) it provides a good reason to draw attention to the appearance of the Taoiseach, dressed or not. And that is — because the Taoiseach himself and his FF faithful are themselves concerned with his appearance, more concerned than they are with his policies, his actions, or his attention to critical matters. My hat is off, therefore, to Conor Casby. Make fun of the Taoiseach. It is not fully undeserved. Of course the paintings are inappropriate, but an orientation to the inappropriate is an essential feature of satire, and, by God, are this country’s power-holders due subjects of satire!
Póló // March 27, 2009 at 12:11 am
The biggest mistake in this sorry episode seems to be the deployment of the Garda in such a relatively frivolous matter while citizens of all ages are apparently being beaten up all over the country, with minimal Garda response, due, no doubt, to resource constraints and a creaky justice system.
Some order of priorities!
BTW: I am not against satirising appearances when they are being used to further a cause but I find it distasteful when it is applied to people’s physical makeup (whether it be Brian Cowen or Gordon Brown). There is plenty of good satirical material there without resort to this.
johniwhite // March 27, 2009 at 4:09 pm
I’m shocked at the response too. Might we draw up a ‘list of prohibited paintings’? Perhaps make the artist consign them to a bonfire of vanities (ah… the twisted irony!) on the lawn of Leinster house? Perhaps chuck a few books on there too. Phoenix magazine for starters.
Tell you what: let’s burn the artist at the stake for good measure.
(Enjoyed your comment Degreezero)
cearta.ie » Cowengate follow-on: a question, and more pictures at the exhibitions // March 29, 2009 at 8:24 pm
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