Some are feeling the pressure to avoid contentious subjects, writes Joyce Morgan.
After her exhibition was closed and her house raided by police, the Archibald Prize-winning artist Cherry Hood made a pivotal decision. She would no longer depict nude children but would concentrate on portraits instead.

About a decade on, she has never returned to the subject that provoked the police action.

''I was just getting so much flak and distraction that it just wasn't worth it,'' Hood says. ''I wanted to have a discussion about art rather than always having a discussion about politics.''

The works were of naked girls aged about four upwards, onto which she painted penises. They were a comment on gender stereotyping, a theme that has long concerned Hood. All the images of girls were photographs in freely available publications.

''In our culture we see them by the thousands on magazine covers,'' she says. ''We see 12-, 13-, 14-year-old children in make-up and sexualised … I'm not talking about Playboy, I'm talking about fashion magazines.''

Which is why Hood is concerned at the present focus on the depiction of children in art.

Her case is outlined in The Art Censorship Guide, just published by the National Association for the Visual Arts. It is a reminder that action against artists has a long history in Australia.

But Hood's decision to change her art practice is one many artists are facing in the wake of the Bill Henson controversy, according to NAVA's executive director, Tamara Winikoff.

The introduction a year ago of Australia Council guidelines for working with children has increased the pressure on artists to steer away from contentious subjects.

''It's meant that people who may not have taken any notice have now become self-conscious,'' Winikoff says. ''It means that the critical role that art can play is being silenced.''

NAVA's guide argues that the visual arts are the prime target for censors and zealots. It provides information about threats to artistic freedom and how to deal with them, outlining the existing laws, the role of key bodies including the Classification Board, and provides advice on what to do if the police call.

The 100-page guide encourages artists to speak up if a work is censored or restricted or if an artist is intimidated.

The Australia Council is currently reviewing its protocols and their effect on artists, and their impact on the creation, exhibition and distribution of art involving children.

Winikoff has called for their scrapping, describing them as unnecessary. No Australian artist has been found guilty of exploiting or harming children within their art practice as far as NAVA is aware.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/