Don't flirt with this taboo

A good piece on Bill Henson from The Age

He is flirting with one of the last great taboos, and it is not puritanism or ''pandemic fear'' (his words) to ask: is there a moral issue with photos taken for adults that dwell so intently on the sexual awakening of children?

Should there be limits to artistic expression? I am not a believer in art for the sake of art, or that anything can be considered art. There are works that are pleasing to the eye, there are works that are confronting in order to send a message. There are works that are entertaining.

It is the works that send a message that seem to be most in danger of being misused. "This drawing of a man having sex with a horse is a comment on the relationship between man and nature. This photograph of the same thing is a similar comment, but it takes it a step further and adds the immediacy of the modern age into the dichotomy."

Society has taboos for a reason. Incest, paedophilia, a whole bunch of others I won't name because I don't want people searching for them and finding my blog.

I understand some things were taboo once and are no longer. Interracial relationships, women owning property etc. Perhaps art played a part in changing those things. But can anyone really tell me that artistically flirting with the taboos we currently have will result in a good change? Will anything change for the better if people continue to photograph children entering puberty in a sexual light?

Or maybe I'm too old-fashioned?