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Officers scoured the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra in search of works by controversial photographer Bill Henson, one of the country’s most acclaimed and successful artists.

The confiscation of the photographs by police has caused a furor, with the prime minister, Kevin Rudd, describing them as “absolutely revolting”.

But many Australians said the police raid was a clumsy attempt at censorship and a

dangerous attack on freedom of expression which would embarrass the country internationally.

In a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald, a former police superintendent and now art gallery owner said he was dismayed at “the purse-lipped paragons of public morality” who condemned Henson’s works as child pornography.

On Wednesday a group of leading writers and artists, including Oscar-winning actor Cate Blanchett, signed an open letter expressing dismay at the actions of police and the allegation that Henson was a pornographer.

The prospect of Henson, whose work has been shown in New York, Paris and at the Venice Biennale, being charged had done “untold damage to our cultural reputation”, the letter said.

Henson’s photographs were not titillating but part of an artistic tradition that stretched back to ancient Greece, Caravaggio and Michelangelo.

One of the few politicians willing to defend Henson was Malcolm Turnbull, a former head of the Australian Republican Movement and now the conservative opposition’s treasury spokesman.

He said he owned two of the artist’s works, but neither depicted naked teenagers.

“I don’t believe that we should have policemen invading art galleries. I think we have a culture of great artistic freedom in this country and I don’t believe the vice squad’s role is to go into art galleries,” said Mr Turnbull.

In addition to scrutinizing the National Gallery, police reportedly ordered a gallery in Newcastle, north of Sydney, not to exhibit two Henson photographs featuring nude teens, and descended on another gallery in the city of Albury.

Police have said they intend to prosecute Henson for obscenity but no charges have yet been laid.

The investigation has stalled because Henson has refused to reveal the identity of the girl he photographed nude for the exhibit.

The chief of police in New South Wales, Andrew Scipione, weighed into the debate, saying that as a father he strongly disapproved of the photographs.

Tags: ancient greece, art gallery owner, artistic freedom, artistic tradition, australian republican movement, australians, bill henson, cate, cate blanchett, child pornography, clumsy attempt, conservative opposition, dangerous attack, freedom of expression, greece, malcolm turnbull, mr turnbull, naked teenagers, national gallery of australia, newcastle north, police superintendent, public morality, sydney morning herald, treasury spokesman

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BILL HENSON has dominated the headlines during the past week for all the wrong reasons but when the hysteria dies down we might find this affair has coughed up a few revelations.

First: the level of public ignorance that exists in relation to the visual arts. In 2005 Bill Henson was the subject of huge retrospectives at the Art Gallery of NSW and the National Gallery of Victoria, which were advertised in the media and even on bus shelters. His work is held by most of the important public collections in Australia and he is every bit as internationally successful in his field as Cate Blanchett or Hugh Jackman are in theirs. He has been making works that use teenagers for almost 30 years, exhibiting and publishing at the highest levels. And yet, when this furore breaks, it seems that his detractors have never heard of him.

This should be a source of concern to art museums, arts funding bodies, art educators and organisations with cultural responsibilities such as the ABC. It seems that most people in Australia could not care less for the visual arts unless they are presented in the form of a page one scandal.

The second eye-opener is the irresponsible way the politicians have responded to this affair. From the Prime Minister to the Premier, to the leaders of federal and state oppositions, every one has blurted out a litany of damning, inflammatory comments, having seen nothing more than a few blurry snapshots.

It is no secret that rank populism is now a fact of life in Australian politics. But in an age when every message is refined and spin-doctored to avoid offending anyone’s delicate sensibilities, it appears to be OK to pronounce judgments on unseen works of art in the name of public morality. The comments of the politicians have provided tremendous support for one-eyed activists such as Hetty Johnston, who claim to be speaking in the name of “the community”.

Directly or indirectly, our leaders have encouraged the police to act in a high-handed manner by confiscating works of art, thereby setting the scene for an ugly and futile battle in the courts. Finally, they have helped create a climate in which self-appointed witch-hunters and vigilantes can ring the Roslyn Oxley gallery with threats of violence.

Tags: activist, art educators, art gallery of nsw, art museums, australian politics, bill henson, bus shelters, cate, cate blanchett, delicate sensibilities, fact of life, hetty johnston, hugh jackman, inflammatory comments, national gallery of victoria, oppositions, oxley, populism, public collections, public ignorance, public morality, retrospectives

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