- David Marr 'feels terrible' after firing up Bill Henson row
- The Australian
- 14/10/2008 Make a Comment
- Contributed by: The Rooster ( 264 articles in 2008 )
JOURNALIST David Marr says he feels "terrible" being at the centre of the Bill Henson controversy and that he has harmed the boy chosen to pose for the photographer and the principal who allowed Henson to scout for a model on school grounds.
Speaking after a public address in Sydney last night, Marr became emotional when he said: "I hate the damage I did to people last week. I damaged that principal and I damaged that boy. I damaged them. I did, because of the completely unfair and outrageous way that story was dealt with."
In his book, The Henson Case, Marr reveals how Henson visited a primary school in St Kilda, Melbourne, seeking subjects for his photography.
The school principal, Sue Knight, is being investigated by the Victorian Education Department. And Marr said the boy who was photographed by Henson was now "a mess" and "shattered".
The boy's parents had given consent for him to be photographed.
Although mentioned in only one paragraph in the book, the revelation reignited the controversy over Henson, whose work depicting naked children, was seized by police from a Sydney gallery in May.
In his address last night, Marr said "the little boy is shattered and blames himself for what has happened". He said he had been naive not to realise that "Krakatoa" would erupt when it emerged Henson had been allowed on school grounds.
He later told The Australian: "I did not understand its beat-up potential, I did not understand therefore that people would seek out the principal. I feel terrible for what's happened to those people, terrible."
Marr, who last night argued that as long as artists acted within the law, police should be kept out of arguments about taste, said the controversy was due to "tabloid rage capped and validated by the Prime Minister".
Asked about criticisms by fellow Sydney Morning Herald columnist Miranda Devine who suggested Marr had included the paragraph knowing its explosive potential and that it would help to sell books, he said: "Instead of me being commended as a good reporter for getting that detail, I've been birched as a poor promoter for using it."
Speaking after a public address in Sydney last night, Marr became emotional when he said: "I hate the damage I did to people last week. I damaged that principal and I damaged that boy. I damaged them. I did, because of the completely unfair and outrageous way that story was dealt with."
In his book, The Henson Case, Marr reveals how Henson visited a primary school in St Kilda, Melbourne, seeking subjects for his photography.
The school principal, Sue Knight, is being investigated by the Victorian Education Department. And Marr said the boy who was photographed by Henson was now "a mess" and "shattered".
The boy's parents had given consent for him to be photographed.
Although mentioned in only one paragraph in the book, the revelation reignited the controversy over Henson, whose work depicting naked children, was seized by police from a Sydney gallery in May.
In his address last night, Marr said "the little boy is shattered and blames himself for what has happened". He said he had been naive not to realise that "Krakatoa" would erupt when it emerged Henson had been allowed on school grounds.
He later told The Australian: "I did not understand its beat-up potential, I did not understand therefore that people would seek out the principal. I feel terrible for what's happened to those people, terrible."
Marr, who last night argued that as long as artists acted within the law, police should be kept out of arguments about taste, said the controversy was due to "tabloid rage capped and validated by the Prime Minister".
Asked about criticisms by fellow Sydney Morning Herald columnist Miranda Devine who suggested Marr had included the paragraph knowing its explosive potential and that it would help to sell books, he said: "Instead of me being commended as a good reporter for getting that detail, I've been birched as a poor promoter for using it."
Source: https://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24493582-421,00.html
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