Censorship has been in
society since 443 BC in ancient Rome. Two censors had the duties of registering
citizens, administrating finances to the state and, above all, "protect
the Roman people from immorality" (Kugler
1). Their job included censoring literature,
public officials and art. Art and
censorship have been long time rivals.Â
Art is about freedom. In
contrast, censorship is about control.Â
"The work of art may have a moral affect, but to demand moral
purpose from the artist is to make him ruin his work," said Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe. Particularly
true of the attempt to censor the great Michelangelo Buonarroti
of the Renaissance. Michelangelo
has been censored repetitively, by parents and patrons, stealing whole
communities of necessary Renaissance culture.
