Following the deaths of Barry Humphries and Rolf Harris earlier this year, a perennial question has reared its head once again: how should we deal with the art and artistic legacies of artists who have caused harm? This question pokes uncomfortably at a fundamental aspect of art: the “holy trinity” relationship that exists between the artist, the art and the audience.
When speaking with a select group of Australian contemporary artists, their response to the question of whether we can separate the artist from their art was a unanimous “no”.
