Social Media Giant Censors Leopold Museum Artworks

Fine Art Censorship

The Leopold Museum houses a unique collection of Austrian art and Modernism. They have the big names like Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt. But there’s a problem, according to media giant Meta. They don’t want these spectacular and important artworks shared with the world. Why? Because Meta considers these paintings ‘explicit’ and ‘pornographic’.

Now, forgive my astonishment. Because I know for sure that shocking and brutal images of the human form are freely available on social media. Images promoting misogyny, racism, homophobia, violence – it’s all there. We are wading knee-deep through deep-fake content intending to cause harm. Excuse me Mr Zuckerberg, but these are all still out there, uncensored. Yet important images from our shared cultural history are being banned? Really?!

Why Target Museums?

Governments regularly call on social media companies to take some responsibility for what they are sharing. But these capitalist giants bleat about freedom and how hard it is to monitor such a huge, global phenomenon. And of course, there is the money – you can make billions of dollars by turning a blind eye to transgressors. Hmm… But there is a museum in Vienna, working to share the treasures of Austrian 19th-century art? Let’s go after them instead!

History of the Leopold Museum

The Leopold Museum holds over 8,000 works. Rudolf and Elisabeth Leopold created a unique collection over the course of five decades. Their extraordinary passion for art enabled them to collect artists like Schiele and Klimt at a time when both painters were considered erotic or vulgar. But today the art world freely recognizes that these artists played a vital role in art history. Their stories and their work belong to all of us. The Leopold Museum, recognizing that, works tirelessly to share images across the globe, offering insight and education for free.

The Leopold Museum Case

What is it that Meta objects to in particular? It appears to be nudity and homosexuality. What a dreadfully prurient, right-wing, and conservative lot they are. The Leopold Museum recently released this statement:

Freedom Of Expression

Are we really going to allow a media giant to decide for us what art is? We have seen enough of what that kind of censorship can do to society and to our imaginations. The Nazis had a theory about degenerate art. Only pure-blood Germanic art that celebrated conformity and obedience to the State was acceptable. That ‘theory’ means so much art (and tragically, so many artists) was lost to us forever. Art censorship, especially the 20th-century one, has never brought anything good to us. And some try to fight it relentlessly, like contemporary artist Ai Weiwei who has spent his whole life championing freedom of expression in the arts.

Flawed AI Moderation

The rise of AI (Artificial Intelligence) moderation replacing human checks and balances has made the situation even worse. Machines are deciding our cultural norms and morality. Every individual person has the right to accept or reject a work of art or an artist. That is a personal choice. It cannot be the decision of a politically motivated technology company. The American Civil Liberties Union reminds us that:

Controversy and Freedom

Provocative and controversial art asks questions of us. Individuals, communities, and countries must wrestle with those questions. We must sit with the discomfort. There are no easy answers. But to suppress art which asks us to think about what it is to be human, and how we define sexuality and what we consider taboo? That is not for Meta to decide. Don’t Delete Art is a collaborative advocating for the freedom of artistic expression online. Their manifesto states:

Targeting Minority Groups

The guidelines for content moderation algorithms do allow for nudity in artwork. So why are posts from The Leopold Museum still getting flagged, suppressed, removed, and banned? Partisan politics are encroaching on artistic freedom, and art which explores female and LGBTQI+ sexuality seems to be the target. Artistic expression of past and current artists across the world is being censored without our consent.

Fine Art Or Porn?

Perhaps you are wondering what other art has been suppressed by Meta over the last few years. The Venus of Willendorf, Love Conquers All by Carravaggio, The Little Mermaid statue in Denmark, Amadeo Modigliani, and, of course, Gustav Courbet’s The Origin of the World. Images of women breastfeeding are frequently removed from Facebook. The finest art on the planet is obscene?! A child being fed naturally by its mother is pornographic?! What kind of twisted morality is this?

Silly Season

Out of frustration with censorship on social media, and as a humorous dig in the ribs for Meta, several museums in Vienna recently united to open an account on Only Fans, which is a subscription-based streaming platform dedicated to adult content. They shared the art images that Meta had objected to. The Vienna Tourist Board joined the clamor, claiming that Vienna and its art institutions are casualties of a new wave of prudishness. Not that I would advocate joining a live porn platform that reportedly helps spread abuse, grooming, and human trafficking, but the stunt certainly grabbed some headlines.

Fight Back

It is time for the big names of the art world to step up. Don’t leave the Leopold Museum fighting the good fight alone. Galleries, museums, collectors, auction houses, investors, and art lovers must take this issue seriously. We must put pressure on social media companies to act reasonably and fairly. Do you really want to live in an online world where your kids can easily get access to images of the latest celebrity boob job but can’t gaze upon inspiring world-class art? That sounds like a horribly depressing future. For more on this story of the latest art censorship, go to the Leopold Museum Instagram account.