Popular social media censorship rules fail to make sense a number of times. When this happened to Vienna Tourist Board for its social media handles on Facebook and TikTok, the NPO decided to move to OnlyFans, an adult-only platform, to showcase the so-called controversial art.
Vienna Laid Bare, the OnlyFans campaign of the board was a result of continued bans and suspensions from platforms like Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. For context, these popular media sites had been deleting art posted by the VTB by terming it pornography. However, the media sharers seem to have turned a blind eye to the thin line that separates art from pornography.
The capital’s Albertina Museum was recently faced with account suspension by TikTok for displaying an obscure breast in the work of Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki. This is not an isolated incident. Classic artworks such as Liebespear by Koloman Moser and The Kiss by Gudtava Klimt have found themselves amid controversy because of these censorship rules.
A Campaign for Free Expression
When pictures of artwork nearly 30,000 years old are removed from Facebook and termed ‘potentially pornography’, the mind begins to wander. Art is the supreme form of expression of human sensibility, and to ban art is to ban freedom. In 2017, the Vienna Tourist Board took this to the streets of London in an outdoor campaign, showcasing the works of Austrian expressionist Egon Schiele.
But the bans continued.
Vienna Tourist Board – Vienna Laid Bare
The OnlyFans account displays a plethora of artworks in Austria’s capital city. What’s ironic is that Vienna Laid Bare, the virtual museum of Vienna’s ‘tabooed’ pride, is being promoted on the very platforms that banned the pieces in the first place. Early subscribers can claim a Vienna City Card with benefits that include discounts are free public transports, or get to see one of these works in person
Liberty in Art: PR due to political stand?
Vienna’s tourist board and its many museums have made their political stand clear time and again: liberty is the foremost prerequisite for art.
Because of numerous travel bans in recent time, virtual museums have been booming with thousands of subscribers. The board showcasing its treasures online thus becomes integral. However, it does not matter how many people worldwide are able to visit the adult-only page. Its protest against monochromatic censorship rules has already earned it PR, and is now held in high regard.
When it comes to creativity, black-or-white rules render senseless. Only time will tell when social media acknowledges that art exists in the grey.
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