My stepson is a junior at a private, regional, Catholic school. They're studying British literature this year and this coming semester they're moving from The Canterbury Tales and such to Renaissance and Victorian era literature. To introduce the Renaissance period, his teacher prepared a powerpoint presentation that goes over the kinds of changes Europe saw during the Renaissance, in literature and in art. So I go and check out what they're teaching the kids these days and, being an artist, I'm interested in the art bits. I love me some Renaissance art! Well, fuck me, if she didn't actually put back blocks over the genitalia of not one, but two of the pieces of art she chose to illustrate Renaissance art, Michaelangelo's Creation panel in the Sistine Chapel and Titian's Venus of Urbino.
These are the actual screen shots. After I burst out laughing, I realized I was mostly speechless. Is she kidding? This is 2011, we are in the 21st century, are we not? And she's censoring fine art, not just fine art but classic fine art. To what end? Why? Because she's teaching 17-year-olds in a Catholic school? How could a Catholic school find this offensive?? The original Creation panel resides in Rome. In the Sistine Chapel. In the Vatican. Where the fucking Pope lives. Between this and the recent "censoring" of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, could we all grow up a little? I mean, really.
Doesn't surprise me a bit.
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