Another case of censorship in art

On January 8 and 9, 2012 several media outlets reported on the "objectionable" content of an exhibition by the members of the Izmir Art of Photography Society entitled "Antithetical." Housed by the Municipality's art space, the exhibit had opened up on January 3, and was supposed to remain on view until January 23. The news item claimed that "the municipality officials" were not kept abreast of the content of what was on display, and that the officials were already in the process of contacting the Photography Society in an effort to remove the "objectionable" pieces from the exhibit. Another related news on January 11 clarified that the three works that were especially underscored as "inappropriate" (an image of two covered women approaching to kiss one another, a women in a bikini wearing a head scarf, and two men caressing and kissing each other) had been removed by January 8 as a result of the municipality's efforts. In response to this censorship, the Art of Photography Society has reportedly withdrawn their remaining 30 photographs from the municipality's art space.