101 Reasons to Stop Writing

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND: A worldwide coalition of artists has issued a statement criticising the Swiss government and Los Angeles prosecutors over the arrest this week of celebrated film director Roman Polanski, saying that “with his track record of extraordinary films, we should forgive him the crimes he has committed in the past, and indeed some he may commit in the future.”

The group, Rarefied Artists for Personal Excess, argue that an artist’s body of work, and their cultural impact, should always be taken into account when determining the relative severity of any felony the artist might commit in the pursuit of art.

“An artist, whether with the pen, the brush, the chisel, or the camera, can bring joy, understanding and even enlightenment to millions of ordinary people,” said group President Joseph Noblart. “Why, then should we allow them to be undone because of the harm inflicted by the artist on one, or even a few ordinary people?”

Noblart, a renowned painter whose work “The Tears of Sade” was widely regarded as acceptable justification for his attempted assassination of former French President François Mitterrand, argued that many of Polanski’s films had made significant cultural contributions. “Chinatown, for example, is a masterpiece, the apogee of its genre. That film alone should justify an interjurisdictional crime spree. Taken as part of his overall legacy, Polanski should feel free to torch an orphanage with total impunity.”

The group of mostly European artists has lobbied in the past for legislation to excuse artists for crimes based on their creative achievements. “We need a codified system to overlook felonious behaviour, past or future,” continued Noblart. “A painter should be able to celebrate his or her first public exhibition by robbing a convenience store, or beating the shit out of a wino. Winning a prestigious award, like the Booker or an Oscar, should confer the right to cold-bloodedly murder an individual. Many of our members have already exercised this right.”

Noblart also urged prosecutors to consider an artist’s failures as time served. “During the time that he would likely have been incarcerated, Polanski made Pirates, with Walter Matthau. Is that not punishment enough?”

Many co-signatories to the statement expressed concern that Polanski was being made a scapegoat for the unpunished crimes of all artists. “Roman’s being unfairly castigated for the climate of violent, drug-fuelled sexual hedonism that has pervaded filmmaking in Europe and America since the 1920’s,” said film producer Herbert von Krolock, who has worked with Polanski in the past. “Everyone who’s ever been able to prove they were sexually abused by a director and survived got a nice out-of-court settlement or a juicy acting role, so who’s the victim? So a few people suffer unspeakable indignities along the way — if the movie wins awards or turns a profit, who really gives a crap?”

Other artists have criticised the group’s stance. “This issue is not about whether or not a particular filmmaker deserves to be forgiven for raping a child and fleeing prosecution because he went on to make some good films, because when you put it like that, it sounds utterly indefensible,” said Sondra Walker, author of The Prostitution of Values. “No, the real issue here is that we, the intelligentsia, loathe middle America so much, we’d rather a paedophile go free than let a person who speaks French spend a day in your jails.”

Stephen Jayson Harris has interviewed Roman Polanksi several times for American Penitentiary magazine. He is writing a book about artists who tragically commit serious offences before they become famous.