Mapplethorpe decision

[wgardne1 at swarthmore.edu]

List members following issues of censorship/ body representation might be
interested today's news that the Japanese Supreme Court has overturned a
2003 Tokyo High Court ruling banning the import of a book of Robert
Mapplethorpe's photographs that included photos of male genitalia. Since
the decision emphasizes the specifics of this case-- the artistic nature
of the photo collection, the importance of the photos in question to
understanding Mapplethorpe's oeuvre, and the low ratio of these photos in
the collection-- it's unclear how broad the impact on future censorship
policy will be.

Story in Asahi/Japanese--
http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0219/TKY200802190099.html

Story in Asahi/English--
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200802190294.html