Festival International d’Art Singulier
Artist: Marie Morel & Demin
Year: 2014
Date of Action: June 23, 2014
Region: Europe
Location: City of Aubagne, France
Subject: Explicit Sexuality, Government Secrecy, Nudity, Political/Economic/Social Opinion, Sexual/Gender Orientation
Medium: Installation, Painting, Sculpture
Confronting Bodies: Aubagne Municipality
Description of Artwork: The artwork of Marie Morel is a large-scale erotic painting titled L’Amour. The sculpture of artist, Demin is a kinetic sculpture titled, Machine à Accoucher of a woman giving birth, complete with red-colored water.
The Incident: The mayor's office claimed the works were "pornographic". The municipality pressured the festival organizers to censor the specific work of Morel and Demin.
The festival was canceled and the director has stepped down.
Results of Incident: Both of the artists have spoken out against the censorship. Morel claims that the censorship is a "growing trend toward excessive caution around erotic art."
Source:
• http://news.artnet.com/art-world/censorship-snuffs-art-bienniale-in-south-of-france-46009