I had a remarkably horrible meeting with my tutor Andrew, who if you know me, know that I have head-butted with him several times in the past, and he uinabashedly does not like me, or my work.

I don't have time to explain everything that went on, but suffice to say I was speechless with some of the things he said to me, and left feeling angry, underestimated and belittled. Here is a choice exerpt:

A: (referring to my Nazi 50's pinup style drawings) I would never display these, because they are tasteless and would offend Jewish people.
(mind you, this is a full 12 weeks after he first saw them, and said nothing of that kind when we had the actual critique on them)

Our Hero: *is speechless*

Let me tell you about a friend of mine. He is Jewish. He was a young man during the second Wold War. And he thinks Nazis are fucking hilarious. His name is Mel Brooks. If his art is tasteless, I don't want to be tasteful. Because he is fucking loaded.

Do you SEE my face? Do you KNOW my last name? Do you realize I am the grandchild of people who came from ITALY? Do you know I have a cousin who was in Haifa during recent attacks and who's dream it is to be in the Israeli army? Do you realize I HAVE HALF A BRAIN?

Woah. Some people are sensitive about swastikas? YOU DON'T SAY!

Anyone who would think that these cheezy little pinups are meant to hurt people's feelings is out of their mind. I'm not some 13 year old who scribbles swastikas in order to get a rise out of people. You have a right to be sensitive to, and offended by whatever offends you. This is a fundamental right of free thought. But don't expect me to understand why these pictures can't be shown, when The Producers is racking in millions, and accross the gallery are different takes on Communist propaganda art.

He said when I first showed them that he thought it would be better if the drawings were really intense and disturbing. This is a sign of a cowardly mind. Depicting Nazis as inhuman monsters is denying the most frightening fact about the movement: THEY WERE PEOPLE. Well ajusted, healthy, normal people like you and me, with dreams, and sexualities, and senses of humor. If you deny that, you are truly being tasteless. Because you are denying the fact (THE FACT MIND YOU) that it can, has, and will happen again.

Where do they get these people?