Event

ART CRIME (OAKUFF 2012)

Friday September 28th at the Humanist Hall, 9:00pm

ART CRIME (80 mins)
Directed by Frédérick Maheux
CANADA
It would be almost too easy to devolve into a heated debate about the merits of Rémy Couture's creations. He has been labeled a deviant, a pornographer, and his works have been written off as dumb, puerile, and nothing more than an addendum to the torture porn film fad. What is rarely presentedoutside of his loyal fan baseis his intense passion for what he does, and his undeniable genius. However, in 2009, his genius was the catalyst for a still unresolved legal battle where the Canadian government (with the help of Interpol) charged him with the corruption of morality and the production of obscene material.

Couture's mission as a special effects make up artist demands that his work be as believable as possible. But when that work includes shredded bodies, crucifixions, and spurs and glass shards to the faceit can fall far outside many of our comfort zones and into having a perceived tangible impact on society. His work looked so real that the police had to investigate to see if the victims in the photos were actually tortured and killed.

Art/Crime is not a film about the history of disturbing fiction being taken as diabolical reality, but a film about the nature of art, obscenity, freedom of expression, artistic integrity, the policing of the Internet, the need for a conviction to justify procedural expense, and our ill-defined relationship with fantasy. For artists, especially those who use the Web to promote and distribute their work, Rémy Couture's case is ground zero for a possibly stark new reality. S. Taylor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cO5adw3CKw
http://www.artcrimefilm.com/