Walking the tightrope between censorship and free speech
By Nika Korchok | January 22In the days following the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, in which the magazine’s editor Stephane Charbonnier, four cartoonists, three editorial staff of the magazine, an editor’s bodyguard and a guest at the editorial meeting taking place in the building were killed by terrorists (two policemen were killed by the gunmen as the three suspects fled the scene), artists created an outpouring of support through the only means that seem to fully encompass all emotions during this turbulent and uncertain time -- art. Banksy posted a cartoon to Instagram in response, simply captioned “RIP”; Chilean political cartoonist Francisco J. Olea created an image of a makeshift gun made out of art supplies and titled it, “¡A Tomar Las Armas Compañeros!” (Translated it reads: “To arms, companions!”) Other artists across the globe followed in this vein, playing off of the idea that “the pen is mightier than the sword,” by transforming pens into guns, or having battles between artists and gunmen depicted in their art pieces. French President Francois Hollande went on television to say, “Our best weapon is our unity.”
