Hacker News Reader

Comment by Practicality | Hacker News Reader

I am afraid to google Mapplethorpe, is it safe for work?

I guess it depends where you work. Mapplethorpe is quite controversial, at least 30 years ago, perhaps not today.

When his show came to Cincinnati in 1990, the art director was arrested and the Contemporary Arts Center, the museum that brought his exhibit to town, was criminally charged with obscenity for exhibiting sadomasochistic photographs. The museum director received many letters requesting he step down from his position, which they kept all of these years and put on display last year in the reunion exhibit.

> No museum or director has ever been charged since.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/03/28/pornography-...

(This article is SFW.)

>"The museum director received many letters requesting he step down from his position, which they kept all of these years and put on display last year in the reunion exhibit."

I'll bet a lot of those letters aren't safe for work!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Mapplethorpe

Only a bit of it.

I do have a Robert Mappelthorpe t-shirt that is safe-for-work, if a imposing (it's a tightly-cropped self-portrait of eyes), but unfortunately most people don't get why it's funny to wear to work :(

I don't get why it's funny to wear to work either, but would love a brief explanation!

Probably because much of his work is definitely NSFW.

Per the American Family Association, Mapplethorpe's art is "nothing more than the sensational presentation of potentially obscene material."

So, sure, "not safe for work"... :-)

The American Family Association is a hate group who also believe that gay people are obscene. I wouldn't trust their opinion on what is acceptable.

when dealing with NSFW, its their kind in the work place one is worried about...

Most certainly NO!

Reply on news.ycombinator.com