Criticism Earns Artist Conviction

It’s safe to say that child pornography is reprehensible and without any merit. Wishing to make this point, an artist just experienced a great example of how even good intentions can go awry.

On Wednesday, May 21st, “the Helsinki District Court found [artist and scholar] Ulla Karttunen guilty of possessing and distributing child pornography in relation to controversial artwork that the 52-year-old created in order to criticize erotic images of children she discovered online. The court called the crime ‘a forgivable act’ and said it would be ‘unreasonable to impose a punishment, as the defendant has had the same goal as the lawmakers’ in wanting to eliminate child pornography, according to Agence France-Presse. However, Karttunen told Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that she felt the ambiguous decision would make her seem even more culpable to the public, since she has been convicted but not punished. She also questioned why this material is so easily found online and why, instead of acting to remove it, the authorities instead pursued her for shining a light on the issue.” More from the CBC.