Japan's Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a collection of erotic photographs by late artist Robert Mapplethorpe does not violate obscenity laws, a decision that should allow the sale of the book for the first time in eight years. An image by Robert Mapplethorpe The decision overturned a 2003 Tokyo High Court ruling that the book Mapplethorpe was indecent, court spokesman Takashi Ando said. It was believed to be the first time the top court has overruled a lower court ruling on obscenity. Mapplethorpe, who was openly gay, died of an AIDS-related illness at age 42 in March 1989. His images, including human bodies, sex and nudity, have remained controversial. Justice Kohei Nasu said the book of black-and-white portraits "compiles works from the artistic point of view, and is not obscene as a whole," the national Yomiuri newspaper reported. The decision, a majority opinion of the five-judge bench, also recognized Mapplethorpe as "an artist who has won high appreciation as a leading figure in contemporary art," Kyodo News agency reported. Asai called the ruling "groundbreaking" and said it "could change the obscenity standard" used for banning foreign films that show nudity and censoring photographs in books.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 20th February 2008 - 4:14pm