October 2, 2007 | Celeb Watch

Police seize Sir Elton's "porno" pic

Is it an innocent photograph of two young girls having fun, or is it porn? Apparently Nan Goldin’s "Klara and Edda Belly Dancing" has caused quite the fuss since British police seized the image from the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead on Thursday. As described in the London Times, the picture "shows two young girls playing together in front of a kitchen sink. One is skimpily dressed, the other is naked and lies beneath her, knees bent and legs splayed towards the camera."

The image, owned by Sir Elton John, was originally showcased in 1999 at the White Cube Gallery in Central London. As Elton John explained, "The photograph ... has been widely published and exhibited throughout the world. It can be found in the monograph of Ms Goldin’s works entitled The Devil’s Playground, has been offered for sale at Sotheby’s New York in 2002 and 2004, and has previously been exhibited in Houston, London, Madrid, New York, Portugal, Warsaw and Zurich without any objections of which we are aware.”

And though there are those who see this as censorship, the decision to remove the image does have its supporters. As one mother said, "You feel wrong and uncomfortable looking at it, as though you’ve trespassed somewhere you shouldn't be."

Is the issue really one of child exploitation, or a hyper-sensitivity to even the most innocent of images involving young people? Of course, you'll have to make your own mind up. A slightly censored copy of the photograph can be found here. But hurry! You'll want to check it out before the cyber-thought-police get to it first.