The book itself inspired me. Cuts made by the vandal on the title page resembled an eye.
Censorship is all about the importance of what is seen by the “eye of the beholder.”
Using the text of the book, I have illustrated three aspects of vandalism/censorship. The
vandal/censor is peering into the mind of the “guy in the closet” as the latter is reading
the book, the vandal/censor making assumptions as to what material will be most
interesting to the reader. The vandal/censor is shown having a “cop” image of himself:
we’ll make sue the book is safe for you to read. “El Vigilante” refers to the vandal/censor as
a self-appointed guard of morality. Deletion of text is also symbolized by the use of the
lock. The vandal/censor peers through the keyhole, to catch you in the act of reading,
symbolized by the motel key. In the middle of the two extremes is the person who uses the
book as reference for information. Eyes without pupils are used to indicate that the
knowledge given by the book is valuable and without prejudice.
Previous
