Paul Yore is charged for making art while Miley Cyrus is teaching kids how to ride a metal ball

Posted by on Sep 10, 2013 in Stories | 6 Comments
Paul Yore is charged for making art while Miley Cyrus is teaching kids how to ride a metal ball

This morning, two pieces of news were screaming right in my face. It sounds like this to me:
“Paul Yore is charged for making art, while Miley Cyrus is teaching kids how to ride a ball naked on Youtube!”

Before today, Miley Cyrus was on my “do not talk about it” list. Now, I see a need to mention her for the sake of helping a fellow artist by putting his situation into perspective.

Who is Paul Yore?

Paul Yore (25) is a Melbourne based visual artist who is currently facing allegations of producing and possessing child pornography. The porn in question is his art.

A quick search of Paul Yore on google

A quick search of Paul Yore on google

Is it Art or Porn?

Paul’s work contains simple images illustrating a complicated message in gallery settings. Paul’s works are colourful, and although they can be alarming, the landscapes he has made out of pop culture and genitals is a direct reflection of our current social issues. His work is supposed to provoke us so we may think harder about our culture and what it’s doing to us.

Why is this work considered Porn, while videos such as Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball clip is accepted as “pop culture”?

So while Paul is having his works confiscated and being called a pornographer, Miley is over on Youtube crying over her ex boyfriend, making out with a hammer, straddling a wrecking ball naked and rolling around provocatively. Why is Paul’s work “child porn” while this 5Mill plus viewed video and Cyrus’ equally provoking twerking performance  is considered as a perfectly acceptable contribution to pop culture?

So it's ok for Miley Cyrus to lick metal objects in front of your daughters

So it’s okay for Miley to teach your daughters how to pleasure metal objects?

These kinds of messages can be perceived as completely fine by an innocent soul who doesn’t quite understand the meaning behind the iconography and subtext. Much like kids playing “poor pussy” game in 1956.

Poor pussy game, taken directly from a 1956 school book

Poor pussy game, taken directly from a 1956 school book

This has got to stop.

6 Comments

  1. Yeok – Melbourne artist » ART WALK 14 Sydney contemporary 13
    September 24, 2013

    […] It was an epic day for me, especially the surprise encounter with Paul Yore at Neon Parc’s booth. If you didn’t already read it, I had a rant for Paul here […]

    Reply
  2. Bethany Grace Reeves
    September 30, 2013

    Awesome article! I’m still not sure about the title (as we discussed), even though you have changed it slightly. Is she really teaching kids to ride a wrecking ball? I’d say she is more so encouraging her young audiences to be provocative by leading my example.

    Reply
    • Yeok
      October 1, 2013

      Provocative can a very neutral word, it goes both ways depends on your opinion. In this case Paul is being provocative too, but when you compare thiese two cases side by side, it instantly make Paul’s case seem much less harmful.

      Reply
      • Bethany Grace Reeves
        October 1, 2013

        True. I’m using ‘provocative’ in the sense of the definition: “Arousing sexual desire or interest, esp. deliberately.”. Maybe the title could have said “encouraging her young audience to be sexually provocative.”

        I’d call what Paul is doing evoking rather than provocative, because in my mind, something that is provocative stimulates sexual arousal, where something that is evoking stimulates the mind. Paul Yore’s work doesn’t turn me on physically (neither does Miley though – trying to be sexy is one of the least sexiest things you can do in my opinion 😉 )

        I guess it all comes down to semantics, but either way, I don’t think MC’s clip was an instructional video on how to ride a wrecking ball, and even if this was the case, how many kids have access to a wrecking ball anyway? I guess I just feel the title could be more to the point.

        Great article though!

        Reply
  3. Yeok – Melbourne artist » Yeok’s debut solo show “In search of happiness” at Off the Kerb Gallery
    March 16, 2014

    […] The show features several characters who are reflections of the people in Yeok’s life. You will also find varies political messages behind her work, one particular work links back to her view on Paul Yore’s recent story. […]

    Reply

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