Too disturbing to build?

a few years someone turned up at the IPMS nationals in the uk with a liberated concentration camp diorama and was told he couldnt show or enter it
it was in good taste and was a very good diorama

QUOTE: Originally posted by leopold This is what the IPMS has to say about this topic: "The following may be entered in the competition or put on display but can be presented only behind opaque screens or similar visual barriers and only where visitors are provided with a fair description, in written format, of the contents of the models behind the screen. This screened presentation covers competitors and the general public, but no person younger than 18 will be admitted except in the presence of an adult responsible for the young person, subject to the provisions of governing local law:" "Models or dioramas of historic events (e.g., general dioramas or specific depictions of the result of the activities of the communist Cambodian Pol Pot regime, a Soviet Gulag, or a Nazi death camp) where the suffering of human beings, or the result of a pogrom, is depicted. Where the theme, content, or subject matter of presentations is graphic or would violate any provision of part A of this policy, the presentation is prohibited in any setting." I am not a IPMS member myself, but I have attended many IPMS shows. While I can not speak for the IPMS, it has been my personal experience that dioramas which depict scenes such as human suffering are generally frowned upon. A friend of mine was scorned for displaying a diorama of a dramatic car crash. While no gore was involved, not even any blood, it still caused a commotion at the show.

Now I know why I dont belong to IPMS! Geesh is everyone going PC? I mean historical events although catastrophic and sometimes gruesome...really happened! Where as some of this brutal violence on Tv is nothing more than imaginary and often worse(in visual intensity) than some of the historical events! Of course this is just my

Here's an interesting discussion thread regarding this type of diorama.

concentraton or death camp ww2
read #7 - A word of encouragement and the reply.

Digital Dioramas - A Final Farewell

Muzzleflash and lizardqing2, I couldn't agree with you more. I think you should be able to build whatever you like, provided it shows some modicum of good taste. (whatever that is) I'm not saying I agree with the IPMS, in fact, this is one of the reasons I don't belong to the IPMS, I don't like some of their politics. The car crash thing really struck me as odd. Why can we build dioramas of war scenes and this be viewed as perfectly acceptable, while dioramas of an Indi-car crash was deemed to be in poor taste and cause a major uproar? This makes no sense to me at all. All I'm saying is don't show up at a IPMS show with your liberated Dachau crematorium scene and expect to walk away with a trophy. People don't like to be reminded of the horrors of war. Apparently neither do IPMS judges. We certainly should never forget what happened, so that we would never see a repeat of such things. But subconsciously, people abhor viewing scenes such as this and maybe this topic would be better off left alone, at least from a modeling standpoint. There is a very thin line between accurate graphic depiction of war crimes and overt gore. And I for one, am not sure where that line is.

Powerful statements can be made with the right diorama.

I wonder where IPMS would choose to display a diorama of the Crucifixion?

Gip Winecoff

I dont think it comes down to IPMS rules, those dont mean anything to me.

If you live in America you have the freedom to build it. If done in poor taste, and graphic with no merit, well it will just speak for itself.

Dont be afraid to try something just because it is a difficult subject. Use your judgement and think of how other people would view your work.

Good luck,

The way I see it , what we do is a direct reflection of the historical progressions of mankind. Alot of what has happened in the past is not pretty or something that some may not want to accept that happened. As long as these moments in time are remembered , the chances of them being repeated are minimized. What is the difference from building a dio of something and it being put on the big screen with all the gory details in motion? It makes no sense that a movie such as Schindlers List is highly acclaimed but yet if you take the time to build a dio of the same subject it is frowned on.
There is just to much political correctness these days and it will do nothing but harm the future generations. As far as displaying a car crash, that should be something that all teenagers see first hand. If they could see,smell and hear everything that comes out of someone doing something stupid than maybe they would think twice before doing something stupid behind the wheel. Protecting them from what happens in the real world does nothing but let the real world slap them in the face the hard way.
I say go for building anything that you want to. As long as it is done with taste and reflects the historical value of the subject it should not cause any problems. Plus if someone don't like it, they can always look at something else.

This is what the IPMS has to say about this topic:
"The following may be entered in the competition or put on display but can be presented only behind opaque screens or similar visual barriers and only where visitors are provided with a fair description, in written format, of the contents of the models behind the screen. This screened presentation covers competitors and the general public, but no person younger than 18 will be admitted except in the presence of an adult responsible for the young person, subject to the provisions of governing local law:"
"Models or dioramas of historic events (e.g., general dioramas or specific depictions of the result of the activities of the communist Cambodian Pol Pot regime, a Soviet Gulag, or a Nazi death camp) where the suffering of human beings, or the result of a pogrom, is depicted. Where the theme, content, or subject matter of presentations is graphic or would violate any provision of part A of this policy, the presentation is prohibited in any setting."
I am not a IPMS member myself, but I have attended many IPMS shows. While I can not speak for the IPMS, it has been my personal experience that dioramas which depict scenes of human suffering are generally frowned upon at IPMS shows. A friend of mine was scorned for displaying a diorama of a dramatic car crash. While no gore was involved, not even any blood, it still caused a lot of commotion.
If this diorama is not intended for competition at a IPMS event, then who cares what they think. This hobby should have the freedom to express one's emotions in the same way as any other artistic medium.

models in general , dioramas in particular, are about telling a story. People deny or forget and either way the next generation is oblivious. Tell away!!
keep us posted

I agree, go for it....

I saw a diorama many years ago that was done with great taste. It had a boy, still dressed in his prison clothing, laying on a stretcher. Kneeling beside him was an American soldier giving him a candy bar. Several other soldiers were standing by the stretcher. One was even wiping his eyes.

As long as it is done with taste, I see nothing wrong with it. After all, it is a part of history.

History itself is disturbing! In this time of political corectness, some may get their feelings hurt. I dare say that more than feelings were hurt in Aushwitz!
I say go for it!