:-/

Lisa...

now, as long as we're both aware of Freedom of Expression... and that even if you get all offended and steam starts coming out of your ears, technically, in a truly free society, you shouldn't be able to censor that person.

now as far as calling it ART... that's entirely subjective. is art a form of personal expression? is art only things that are beautiful? how do you quantify beautiful? where do you draw the line between what is aesthetically pleasing to you, or to someone else? etc.

unfortunately, the dictionary seems to take the view that art has to be beautiful or aesthetically pleasing. I was always of the impression that it was a form of personal expression. if I wanted to paint what was on my mind... (and I did chalk "art" when I was younger, among many other things... including pieces being displayed in an art museum etc.) what if what was on my mind was darkness and hate and anger and despair... and I let that flow through my hands and onto canvas and left something terrible... ?? then it's not art? even if 1 other person could look at that and see the beauty in it? the window into a persons soul?

where do you draw the line and make the decision for what someone can and cannot call art, based on YOUR perception of it and feelings towards it? if it's not hurting you, robbing you, or depriving you of some inalienable right or something... I don't see what the issue is. you're free to disagree and not call it art... but you really can't say that someone else can't. to THEM it very well could be art.

just my 2 cents I guess. I'm sure this could be argued in circles all day. and I know that I could argue "both" sides, and a number of tangents. but I think in the end, I covered the main gist hopefully.

Piss Christ

expression... might even be "beautiful" to someone... beauty being in the eye of the beholder after all. ;)

it's all relative... it's all subjective.

I think a more fruitful discussion here would be to focus more on the fact of simply offending other people... not about the "art or not art" aspect of it.

and I think I already covered that too. freedom of speech and of expression. I have no pity for people so grievously offended by the equivalent of pissing on a picture of hansel and gretel standing outside the gingerbread house.

want something to really get upset about? consider things like how upset you'd be if someone murdered your parents... or raped your sibling... REAL LIFE. people need to stop getting their panties in a bunch over PIECES OF FUCKING PAPER or LITTLE PLASTIC STATUES.

I honestly wish they'd all just kill each other off and leave those of us with (un)common sense to refill the gene pool.