BALTHUS would be ARRESTED AS A PEDOPHILE

His name? Balthasar Klossowski. He was known as BALTHUS. He loved to paint young pussy...pubescent girls. With cats.

This was back in the 40's when painters were kind of pop stars...their latest works were viewed like the latest hit single or hit movie...OH, a new one from BALTHUS...gotta take a look!

But...not so fast. This IS pretty prurient-interest stuff, huh?

Upskirt peeping...

And let's take a look at this lewdie...which features what was probably the Miley Cyris of her day...

There's a brand new picture book featuring all the Balthus "Girls and Cats" AND there are several rooms full of 'em at a new exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

(Note to Internet Surfers: a "museum" is a place where you can GO and SEE actual FULL SIZE works of ART. These are often called "PAINTINGS" and were done using OILS on a CANVAS. But you can stay home and download the pictures and save them as jpgs, and not have to worry about having an emotional reaction to seeing something larger than your tablet screen.)

Back to the premise. Do you suppose anyone could get away with actually doing this stuff now? While almost "anything goes" in our sick society, and Miley can twerk, and a half-baked no-talent bitch can write her "50 Shades of Gray," and Justin Bieber can grab his crotch in front of tweens...an artist who might draw, paint, or take a photograph like the above...would be in SERIOUS trouble.

I think this is because as long as there's such a word as PEDOPHILA (or PAEDOPHILIA), people can feel good about being perverted and immoral about EVERYTHING ELSE. The maniacs who used to make and enforce our laws, and the psychopaths who've broken those laws and gotten "edgier" about what's x-rated, all seem to agree that "all is permitted" as long as we protect the children. Somewhat.

In other words, the villagers can light their torches and go after Rolf Harris, or curse the memory of Jimmy Savile, and revile ex-WNEW DJ Dave Herman...so we can turn a blind eye to anything "consenting adults" feel like doing...and which we end up having to see on our front page (thanks, Miley), or unexpectedly deal with in some R-rated "comedy" (can't get enough poop and fart sight gags). And let's not forget the Great Google, where Blogspot bloggers can offer all kinds of stolen downloadable porn as long as you tick a box saying you're over 18 even if you're not. Is there a teenager or adult out there who doesn't now what S&M is, or "Scat" or bukkake? My my, how decadent and edgy! But as long as it's not a nude painting of a 12 year-old, we're FINE.

In other words, Balthus would get his ass kicked if he tried to sell this stuff today.

Ironic isn't it, that 70 or 80 years ago, people knew the difference between "art" and "prurient interest?" Nobody could paint a scene of some chick being whipped, or blowing a guy, or being gang banged with a bukkake finale...but a simple if erotic nude image of a young girl? That was ok. Even full frontals (which you can see in the book or at the exhibit).

People knew what "art" really was.

But do you think that if Balthus was a 20-something artist, and put this stuff out there...he'd be told that he's no Banksy? That it's one thing to spray paint your "tag" on a public wall but quite another to painstakingly create a painting of a nude girl and her cat?

Nobody's demanding you be over 18 to go see the Balthus exhibit at the Met. There's no BANKSY in the Met, either. This might make the Metropolitan Museum one of the few sane places a tourist can visit.