You’d think trying to make the world a little more beautiful with art would be something to celebrate, rather than silenced.
With a photographic career of more than eight years, Canadian erotic photographer Mikel Marton set out to raise funds for his first photo-book, titled Edible Flowers, which seeks to combine his “love of Naked boys, local wild herbs, plant-lore & personal nature poems & spells.”
However, his GoFundMe page was shut down because of its “adult content,” according to the artist. The website explains in its FAQ section that almost any project can be funded through GoFundMe’s service, which takes a five percent cut of the funds raised but warns, “DON’T break any local laws, expect strangers to buy you stuff or promote inappropriate content.”
Unfortunately, it’s not the first time Marton has been wronged through an online service.
“I had a Paypal account back in 2007, when I was robbed, and my backup, computer and camera were stolen (I live above a restaurant so no one would insure me). Paypal refused to release any of the funds donated to help me out, since it was related to what they deemed as ‘pornographic’ materials,” he explained previously, and the site withheld funds from Marton. Eventually, a Paypal spokesperson explained that the website is run by a Christian family that “do not differentiate homoerotic arts with blatant gay pornography.”
Luckily, it’s still possible to support the artist through his Etsy page, where he is selling limited-edition postcard prints of a recent series titled Valley of Lilacs: Land of Eternal Youth. Marton, who earns his living through the sale of his work, also has dozens of other prints from prior works available on his Etsy page.
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