Jonathan Stevenson -
The caption bellow a borderline pornographic painting “EDGY STUFF Dylan Atkinson has two of his oil paintings on display at Acme Artists. “This is probably not to everyone’s taste,” he says of his work. “It’s definitely got a little more edgy feel to it.”” So why was this picture one of the 3 pictures included on the hard copy version (that were taken from the 7 pictures they had on the website)? It really was unnecessary. I guess sex sells? Can we have a little better taste in photos for the families that subscribe to the newspaper?
Jonathan Stevenson -
Ephes. 5:3 “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.” It is a foreign concept in this sex driven culture, but our family does not have Victoria’s Secret catalogs in our house. We change the channel when sexual content comes on the television. And we do not frequent stores that have window displays that put sex on display. It is very hard in the culture we live to take that stand. Some may consider it archaic. But we believe God intended sex for marriage. The painting displayed in the newspaper is of a scantily clad woman in a sexually suggestive pose. You may consider that art, I consider it porn. There was a time when nakedness was not just about sex Genesis 2:25 “The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” But sin forever changed that. Genesis 3:7 “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” There are countless objects that an artist can choose to paint, so why choose a sexually suggestive painting? For the same reason the Rep chose to include it in their photos. Sex sells! Matthew 5:28 “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. “
Jonathan Stevenson -
So because I disagree with a newspaper displaying sexually provocative paintings, am I a Nazi or a Taliban member? Interestingly enough, a professor at KSU who has an article on his wall honoring the hijackers of 9-11 has hardly received a word of criticism from the same commenters. The good professor gets a free pass from commenters due to free speech... but that only goes so far, don't criticize my art! I do not believe it is unreasonable to expect a newspaper to have higher standards than this. If you choose to go see this painting, that's your choice. But why does the REP feel it need to be included in the paper? Because sex sells! Maybe they should start delivering the newspaper wrapped in brown paper.
