Alberta art gallery takes down student’s work after complaint over nudity

A Lethbridge student's art piece is being called, by some, too controversial for elementary school students. The Lethbridge Public School Board asked the Southern Alberta Art Gallery to take the piece down after a parent complained.

A piece of art created by a Lethbridge high school student has been taken down from where it was hung at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery (SAAG) after someone filed a complaint about it. ..............​ Kimberly Tams from CBC has more.

My own 2 cents worth of comment:

Is this for real? It sounds like a bad Saturday Night Live spoof about this Alberta hick town, or maybe something one would expect to happen in ISIS controlled parts of Syria. Certainly not in a modern Western Society. That the Lethbridge School District 51 would give in to a complaint by a obviously uncultured prude is astonishing; laughable if it were not such a sad reflection on what misunderstood 'political correctness' has come to dictate, forcing the moral position of one onto the general public. What next? This piece is a brillant collage by this grade 12 student, a tribute to historical art. Next would be banning any depictions of Michelangelo's work found in places such as the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Good enough for the pope, but oh, not suitable for the morals of prudish Lethbridge. And again, Southern Alberta's Lethbridge makes it self the laughing stock of Canada and the world! Way to go!

Pictured is a familiar piece, the Birth of Venus by Sandro Boticelli.

But it appears this made the rounds already, here is a write-up in Metro News:

A student's work has been deemed too racy for a Lethbridge school board's elementary school children after parent complaints.

The classic art remix, a collage of works including the Birth of Venus, has been whisked away to a private viewing room.  

All of the schools in Lethbridge participate in an arts program to submit student work chosen by teachers to the Southern Alberta Art Galley (SAAG) – it’s called Art’s Alive.

The works range from kindergarten-aged children to students in Grade 12.

On Wednesday of last week the Lethbridge School District No. 51 took down a Grade 12 student's work after a parent, or several parents, complained “about the content of the work.”

...... read more

by  Helen Pike Metro News

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UPDATE:

I had posted the original CBC article on Facebook. One comment I found particularly fitting was by a Portuguese artist friend:

Crazyness! I would call it the "Fig Leaf syndrome". I recall the Michelangelo's David episode... but that happened in the Victorian era . Nowadays, people with such psychological disorders would make better use of their time getting adequate therapy instead of spending time in galleries. Just sayin'...

Now here is another one:

I can't avoid being shocked by the recurrent news about artwork being banned for nudity from galleries and museums. It always provides me an involuntary travel in time - but no thanks, my eyes are on the opposite direction!
-Is the artwork so empty of art that it can only activate particular parts of the viewer's brain?
- Does the viewer own a real brain, with real nervous tissue and all?
Now, seriously, worldwide perverts, blind spirits and narrow-minded religious freaks, get a life... and especially a good psychotherapist!! The rest of the world says "Ah! Good for you! Was about time!".
"What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful that the garment with which it is clothed?" (Michelangelo)
Yeah! Back to the 15th century, what a cool guy Michelangelo was. Some centuries later, yeah, the question remains urgent:
What spirit?

OF CANADA GEESE AND FREEZING TEMPERATURES

Panorama Oldman River, Lethbridge, Alberta - January 2008

Living in a much more temperate climate now, I often reminisce about my 40+ years in Canada, regaling my friends with tales of bone shattering winter temperatures of days gone by. These tales, I hasten to add, are not from the safe spot beside a warm fireplace, looking out the window at a frozen landscape and occasional trips to the convenience store for a pack of smokes and then wiping icicles off my mustache. No, I actually worked mostly outdoors at the most extreme and inclement weather conditions imaginable. While Lethbridge and the Region of Southern Alberta does not reach the extreme coldest temperatures recorded in Canada, I remember many a wintry day reaching -35 C  where we considered it a relief when it improved to only -25 C. I worked for Canadian Pacific Rail, and at temperatures below approximately -25 C rubber gaskets and trainline hoses became hard as steel. While not the coldest spot in Alberta (actually, in the north of the province Fort Vermillion holds the record at -60.6 C) we were one of the windiest cities in Canada, and the combination of cold temperatures with higher than average wind would result in extreme windchill factors. Check this Windchill Chart for details.

Rising Fog, Oldman River, Lethbridge, Alberta - January 2008

Most of the work I did at CP Rail was outdoors, either repairing rail cars or inspecting trains. As a Health & Safety Representative I had to continuously monitor conditions for safe work conditions in such cold environments. Proper protective clothing is essential, both for work and for play outdoors. I found, while not inexpensive, Canada Goose down garments provided the best insulation against the cold. 

Canada Geese, Oldman River - January 2008

But not all goose down is created equal. The best down with the highest fill rating comes from mature geese, as opposed to lower fill ratings of immature geese. Learn more about this here: Down Fill Power Ratings: The Low Down on Goose Down. It also depends on the area where these geese live throughout the year. While migrating geese are a familiar sight in Canada late Fall, there are those, such as the ones pictured above, that would not venture any further south than our region in Southern Alberta, often braving the extreme cold temperatures and windchill associated with it (considered non-migratory geese). The down these birds develop is particularly valuable! A rather expensive, but great quality label is Canada Goose Down. Check out also Down and Feather Quality, particularly the section critical of live plucking (it should be stressed that this is not a practice in Canada).

Well insulated - Canada Geese

 All photos were taken on one cold winter morning (aproximately 9 AM), January 21st 2008 at the Oldman River, Indian Battle Park, Lethbridge, Alberta. According to the weather history, it was rather "balmy" that day, with the recorded low of only -23 C.
More information about Canada Geese can be found in this Canadian Government pamphlet:
Canada Geese - Canadian Wildlife Service 

Near Oldman River, with High Level Bridge, Lethbridge, Alberta

A different chapter of my Canadian History would be a Christmas visit to Fort Smith, NWT in the early nineties. A experience I may write about some other time. Suffice it to say in comparison, Lethbridge seemed rather 'tropical'.