Letter: Nothing rude about the nude
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.From Ms Margaret Miller
Sir: As an artist, I was delighted to read Professor Naismith's letter (10 February), which he wrote as a scientist who thinks and speaks more clearly about art than many artists do.
Good artists, as well as good scientists, never stop experimenting; having ideas and then trying them out, requiring imagination and then rigour. By definition, neither artists nor scientists can ever deliver a correct message because they must keep moving. (Both Sir Ernst Gombrich and Sir Peter Medawar describe this very clearly.) Thinking in both the arts and in science can be seriously hampered by minority pressure groups. Intellectual censorship is always frightening, but inside a university it quite simply destroys the core.
The argument in Helen Keats's letter (10 February) was that the nude paintings were "out of context". Should social statisticians sitting in conference rooms only be allowed to look at pictures of social statisticians sitting in conference rooms? All good art transports us "out of context". Stephen Spender's poem An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum describes this beautifully and is a warning of the dangers of politically correct censorship inside any place of learning. The poem was written decades ago - so when did political correctness start?
Yours faithfully,
Margaret Miller
Coventry
10 February
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments