CENSORED ART ON IG + FB

BY: Ines Valencia

The elevation of social media in the hierarchy of art exhibition spaces has been both beneficial and detrimental to artists living and working in an age of social media censorship. Creators who do not have the means or resources to have their art exhibited in a museum, gallery, or print publication have found a way to promote and sell their work via an Instagram or Facebook page. It boosted many careers, as these platforms are much more accessible and reach a wider audience. They also allow artists to interact with their viewers, make connections, and find inspiration. Today, emerging artists consider themselves part of a “start-up generation,” a new movement where artists are making a place for themselves in the industry, thanks to the internet. Another example of social media’s efficiency is how it has become an essential tool for artists during the current Coronavirus pandemic. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and even Tik Tok become some of the only spaces where many feel like they can continue advancing their career.

The promotional potential of social media is immense. Still, problems arise when artists (especially those who focus on representing the human body) begin to face censorship, which is not as prevalent in traditional exhibition spaces. Instagram and Facebook specifically have strict policies about displaying nudity (or images regarded as violent, shocking, or sexually suggestive.) These restrictions limit the work that creators can put out there. It also prevents them from fully expressing themselves and having complete artistic freedom. Social media has become so essential in recent years that getting censored can severely hurt an artist’s chances of making sales or promoting themselves, which can damage careers. An artist that suffers from constant censorship, and even had her account suspended once, is Betty Tompkins. She told The Art Newspaper that her account was suspended after posting an image of her Fuck Painting #1 (1969). Her immediate concern focused on how she would advertise her upcoming show, “They are censoring me personally, as an artist.”

Instagram is notorious for demanding that users remove female nipples from their posts, which causes constant outrage, not only among artists but also among regular users infuriated by the continual need to sexualize the female body. Individual users can also report content that they deem offensive on top of the posts already blocked by the AI algorithm, preventing it from being seen by anyone else. Although these restrictions are in place to “protect” the diverse community of social media consumers from seeing pornographic imagery or content they might be sensitive to, art falls into a different category. Instagram has recently added the option to report a problem if you believe that your post has been wrongfully deleted, but only after the work has been removed. Artist Kit King, for example, has had her paintings dropped from both Facebook and Instagram on multiple occasions despite adhering to the rules. It has also become apparent to many that female genitalia is more likely to be removed than males.

Contemporary up-and-coming artists are not the only ones with works targeted continuously and mistakenly rendered as “pornographic” by social media sites. Works by big-name artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe or Kara Walker have also faced censorship, and so have works that date back to ancient times. In 2017 Facebook censored an image of the 30,000-year-old sculpture “Venus of Willendorf,” and in 2018, it suspended an account for posting a photograph of Gustave Courbet’s “L’Origine du Monde” (1866). Although Facebook revised its policy in 2018 to allow for nudity in painting and sculpture on its site and Instagram, censorship keeps occurring regardless. Art that may have been deemed appropriate according to obscenity rulings may still be censored by private social media companies that still have absolute control over what is displayed on their platforms. A privately-owned company such as Facebook (which also owns Instagram) sets its policies and conditions regarding which images are allowed on it, requiring artists to give up their First Amendment rights when creating an account and accepting the Terms Conditions.

So what actions have the art community taken regarding this pressing issue?

Several campaigns have protested censorship of art on social media, such as the #WeTheNipple campaign, launched by the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC). On October 21, 2019, Instagram held a closed-door meeting with a group of artists, activists, and museum representatives following a protest in June 2019 outside Facebook’s headquarters in New York City. No significant changes seem to have occurred following this meeting besides the company’s offer to provide more clarification around its guidelines, but no substantial commitments.

As it is difficult for any legal action to be taken, frequent communication between artists and these companies seems to be the only option. Censorship policies can be confusing and can be interpreted differently depending on one’s circumstances. ARTICLE 19’s Missing Voices campaign calls for improved communication and conflict resolution when social media companies censor users. More recently, in May 2020, a virtual gallery titled Don’t Delete art was launched by groups defending the freedom of expression. Curated by frequently censored artists Spencer Tunick and Savannah Spirit, it consists of displaying works that have been censored or banned on social media platforms. As previously mentioned, the current pandemic has caused artists to rely on the Internet to promote their work heavily, and this gallery provides a space for pieces that would otherwise be censored. By clicking on each of the images displayed, you can also learn about each artist’s career and experience with censorship. Although there is still a lot of work to be done for more provocative art to receive the representation it deserves on the internet, artists and activists are making themselves heard.