Michigan State University Professor Danny Guthrie has fulfilled every dirty old man's dream. Recently, he completed a project in which he's photographed himself touching the bodies of several naked "students and former students" ever so gently. You hear that? Yup, it's the familiar sound of drama.
Guthrie is being accused of using art as a vehicle to exploit and smang students. These images have sparked a debate on what actually constitutes as art, and whether or not they belong in that category. This argument is reinforced by the fact that the picture above can easily be interpreted as some type of inappropriate cult ritual involving the spirit of George Carlin. So is guthrie pushing artistic boundaries out of love for his craft, or just to bone his subjects?
In a statement released via his official university webpage, Guthrie said: "I want the viewer to know I am investigating a history and practice of representation where the roles of viewer and viewed, seducer and object of seduction, are examined and perturbed." He definitely succeeded.
Guthrie may want to sleep with some of the students in his photographs, but so do the people complaining about them. It'll be interesting to see who the university sides with, so let's wait and see.
[via Gawker]
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