Calendar of Climate Change 2009 — banned from London Museum
by Carrie @ 8:58 am 2 comments »
What keeps track of time, promotes awareness of climate change, and was recently banned by the Natural History Museum in London?
A calendar from Flipside Vision, that’s what.
The environmental publisher’s annual Calendar of Climate Change contains two images the decision makers at the museum deem “possibly offensive.” One is a picture of hundreds of naked (gasp!) volunteers standing against the chilly backdrop of the Aletsch glacier in Europe, which has retreated considerably in not a lot of time. The other unwelcome image shows the World Naked Bike ride, an annual promotional initiative to raise awareness of fossil fuel dependency.
It’s hard to imagine how either of these images could be considered offensive, especially compared to what children see every day on the T.V., in movies, or even at the newsstand. It’s not as if the people are in compromising positions or engaged in lewd behavior; they’re not even the as big as the main image on the page. Flipside says that the photographic calendar is a work of art and an educational tool; its purpose is to show the synergy between man and planet as global warming intensifies. While the museum argues that the calendar is not “on brand” because the naked bodies could be deemed offensive, its own human biology gallery contains a range of pictures of naked bodies and is widely visited by little English chaps. Seems like a wasted opportunity to use to teach the importance of our inherent interconnectedness with the planet. Better to keep things covered up.
Thankfully, you can buy the calendar in the USA now from www.changingworld.com for $17.95. See “Whatever the Weather” - all 12 months for yourself at www.flipsidevision.com. Also available in the U.K. from The Recycle Warehouse, (£10.99)
Hmmm, what could be more natural than the natural human form? The first person to leave a comment on this post telling us which months contain the “controversial photos” will receive a copy of Green Christmas a new book by, Sander and Sander.
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I find it amusing that Britain of all countries would ban this and no less a museum of art. Their television shows all seem to be geared toward overt sexual overtones. August 2009 has naked bike riders and November 2009 has the naked people on a glacier. I did not find it offensive. If anything it was informative as to what other countries feel is important to get the message out about climate change.
Hey Bernice,
Congratulations! We’ll send the Green Christmas book off to you within the next few days. Thanks for reading:)