By: Lucinda Riva

Lucinda Riva — Mon, 23 May 2016 04:56:04 +0000

I find it very perplexing that the anonymous, vandalizing, transgressive artist Banksy is considered praiseworthy while the anonymous, vandalizing, transgressive author JT LeRoy is condemned. Why this disparity?Why is Laura Albert being demonized here and called a fraud for her fiction? Granted, "everyone wanted a piece of the Banksy action." But this article reflects something bigger than trendiness. The fact is, in a sexist and misogynistic society, men are given greater license in their transgressions than women are. Feeding into that double standard limits us all.

By: Nicole V. Gagne

Nicole V. Gagne — Mon, 23 May 2016 04:56:04 +0000

Rather than just parroting the party line of Marjorie Sturm\’s lunge for 15 minutes of fame, Rodrigo Perez needs to do some research before writing about JT LeRoy. "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things" is a work of FICTION, not "non-fiction" — it says so right on the book, which of course Perez has not read. That\’s the problem when you let other people do your thinking for you, you start throwing around misleading and insulting terms like "hoax" and "fraud." That Marjorie Sturm should be unconscious to the artistry of Laura Albert\’s books is not surprising. That indiewire can\’t wait to climb into bed with her is pathetic. Whatever happened to defending an artist\’s creative vision? In the immortal words of Oscar Wilde, "We have no right to quarrel with an artist for the conditions under which he chooses to present his work." Maybe one day Marjorie Sturm or Rodrigo Perez will write books that become international bestsellers. Until then, they should stop moralizing about the artists who do.

Comments on: DOC NYC: 5 Documentaries You Need To See About Banksy, Sex Scandals, Fraudster JT Leroy & Much More

By: Lucinda Riva

By: Nicole V. Gagne