Ron Watt appears to be in the minority. Earlier this month,
the 46-year-old longshoreman, husband, father and born again Christian
tried to remove a Polaroid advertisement from a transit bus, because it
featured a nude woman depicted in Edouard Manet's famous painting, Luncheon
on the Grass.
"I couldn't bear the fact that my son could get on a bus and look at
something like that, whether it's a photograph or a painting or whatever,"
Watt told Vancouver Sun columnist Pete McMartin. Watt complained about
the ad to TransLink and Polaroid, notified churches and parent advisory
committees, and spread the word among friends, co-workers and other parents.
Ninety-nine per cent of them agreed with him, he said. Watt's survey results,
however, may be slightly skewed. A new Vancouver Sun poll shows that a
significant majority of B.C. residents take a decidedly different view.
The poll conducted for the newspaper by Viewpoints Research found
76 per cent of British Columbians agree that famous works of art should
be allowed to be shown in public places - even if they contain nudity.
Only 21 per cent are in Watt's camp. "It's a small, vocal minority obviously,"
said Stephen Bengtson, a partner with Viewpoints Research. The numbers
are even more striking in Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster, where
80 per cent agree that such works of art should be displayed in public
places. "Certainly, it's not an issue here," Bengtson said. "I mean, we
could probably stand a lot more nudity without any problem..
"The support drops below 70 per cent in more conservative regions like
the north, southern Interior and Kootenays. "But still, it's in the majority
- even in the Kootenays," Bengtson said.
Younger people tend to be the most positive, with more than 80 per cent
of B.C. residents between 18 and 34 agreeing that the artworks should be
shown in public places. The support drops to 68 per cent among those 65
and older. People earning higher incomes also tended to see the value
in famous works of art containing nudity. The poll shows that more than
80 per cent of people earning at least $40,000 a year agree that the the
works should be on public display.
"There's a more liberal attitude towards such matters among urban and
younger people and those with higher incomes," Bengtson said. "People who
are educated, who have an appreciation that goes beyond what we might call
religious mores, are going to support it because of its beauty. "There's
always been a correlation between education, income, and acceptance of
nudity in art, without having any moral judgment or thinking that it's
going to make people run down the street naked and rape and pillage. "Interestingly,
residents of Victoria were among the strongest supporters, with about 89
per cent of them strongly agreeing that the artworks should be shown. "I
think, in general, it's because we're talking to people who are educated,
they have more money," Bengtson said. "There's just more of an appreciation.
"I mean, when you think about Victoria in general, it's about beauty. That's
basically what it has going for it." Valder Belgrave, TransLink's manager
responsible for advertising policy, said the poll results come as no surprise.
The company canvassed a broad range of opinion when making its decision
on whether the advertisement was appropriate, he said. "It appears that
what we took as a subjective leap of faith has in fact been validated 1/8
by the poll 3/8," Belgrave said. "We're just happy to see that
the opinions and the feedback that we got from the people that we did canvass
seems to be representative." Watt, however, refuses to quit. He called
Belgrave again Thursday and continues to lobby TransLink to pull the "perverted"
advertisement. Far from undermining his beef, the poll results
bolster it, Watt said Thursday. "If 20 per cent of their customers are
unhappy, they've got to raise the bar and be beyond question," he said.
"Is it too much to ask for good advertising? If something's questionable,
why would you want to take the chance?"
If even one in a million are going to be affected possibly, why would
you do something to damage children?" The Viewpoints poll of 800 B.C. residents
was conducted Dec. 13 to 21. It has a margin of error of plus or minus
3.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The margins of error are
higher for subgroups within the poll, such as regions and age groups.
By LINDSAY KINES
