http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/larissa-dubecki/2008/05/25/1211653847046.html
Small-minded attitudes cloud responses to art
Larissa Dubecki
May 26, 2008
In a world that lauds the teen model, Henson's critics are hypocrites.
PHOTOGRAPHERS Bill Henson and Annie Leibovitz have had little in common over their long careers, but if they caught up now over a glass of sauv blanc they'd certainly have plenty to talk about
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A friend was recently told at a public swimming pool to put a top on her four-year-old daughter — for the girl's own protection, of course. There could be perverts around. But, as Henson said in one of his few public statements last week, we can't control what goes on in the mind of the viewer.
Lolita author Vladimir Nabokov experienced the truth of this when he was horrified to be doorknocked at Halloween by trick-or-treating girls dressed as his nymphet creation.
And, of course, Henson's anonymous Lolita, until she was wrenched off the wall by the brave boys in blue, could have been viewed by people determined to interpret it lasciviously. But you don't have to look to fine art to get your kicks these days: the latest Dimmeys underwear catalogue could be just as stimulating.
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Larissa Dubecki is an Age columnist.