The themes and symbolism employed by Brett Murray in his work are typical of the themes and visual language employed by many fine artists in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe and the Americas.

It is a global, modern language ... penises, in the age of Aids, when explicit sex education for primary school children is de rigueur, are a dime a dozen.

Murray made no attempt to make an image of President Zuma as a private man with a personal life. The genitals in the image are worn like the coat of Lenin - almost as a badge of office.

Pippa Skotnes, professor of fine art at Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town:

This furore shows an embarrassing naivety about the role of art in society. From Shakespearean society (Queen Elizabeth I was reported to have chastised her jesters for not being hard enough on her) to northern Nigerian drama to Yoruba masked festivals, in which jesters were engaged by the royal court in the role of satirists, it has been a global phenomenon, understood by those in power as important, to satirise and poke fun at political figures and leadership.

Anton Kannemeyer, fine artist, sometimes called comic artist:

I think [Murray is] an excellent artist doing valuable work with his current (and previous Hail the Thief part 1) exhibition.

Well done to the ANC and Jacob Zuma for furthering and propelling Brett's career into superstardom.

Wayne Barker, fine artist:

Through ignorance of both art and its power, the ruling party has created a monster. The work has been taken out of context and called racist and pornography.

Gareth Cliff, 5FM DJ:

Art is not only about pretty pictures; often, the best art is provocative.

Part of being an adult in a constitutional democracy is that people will say or do things you might not like. If someone promised you that you would never be "disrespected", they were lying. You also have no right to be offended on behalf of another person. If you start with that, the controversy mostly melts away.

We don't need to go into the president's character, his past, race, or even a debate about artistic or moral freedom.

If you believe in freedom, you can't allow someone else to censor things for the rest of us.