Censorship and Visual Arts: A Comparative Law Perspective

The work intends to analyze the issue of censorship in the art world. In particular, the aim is to deepen the legal instruments that regulate and/or limit the freedom of expression in the various legal systems. The analysis will mainly focus on the European continent (with a special mention of Italy), USA, and finally UK. The intent is to present the various types of censorship on the visual arts, therefore moral, political, and religious ones. An important role is, in fact, played by case law and international courts, of which I will analyze some cases. Finally, we will look at the limit between illegality and the special nature of art, which determines certain immunities. The first chapter introduces regulations on freedom of expression in the EU, Italian, US, and British legal systems. Among the various sources, considering the European and Italian framework, reference will be made to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of European Union, to the European Convention on Human Rights and to the Italian Constitution. On the other hand, as regards the UK legal system, the Human Rights Act will be considered, while for the US one the focus will be on the US Constitution and on the First Amendment. The second chapter will introduce the various types of censorship. Moving from historical hints and from the birth of freedom of expression, it will then offer a comparison among political, moral, and religious censorship. Therefore, I will analyze the different perspectives on the immorality of a work of art, and the most striking cases will show how censorship has changed over time, and how it has changed people. The third chapter is devoted to the artistic expressions that, while not being censored by law applying authorities, intentionally challenge possible censorship. Street art, rebel, and provocative art are examples of this. I will analyze the difference between street art, graffiti, and present some internationally renowned artists, with some case law used to support my thesis. Rebel and provocative arts will be analyzed starting from the Fifties till today, dealing with much discusses political and social issues. Finally, the fourth chapter looks at the power of the arts, making a comparison between legality, illegality, ethics and aesthetics. I will consider concepts such as decency, morals, and freedom of expression, to show how they affect art and the most controversial forms of expression. In this chapter I will mention some norms that make it possible to determine freedoms and immunities of artists. In this chapter I will try to find out to what extent art can enjoy immunity, and to what extent it can go so that it doesn't infringe on a given norm. The work will be concluded with a personal view on censorship in the visual arts.