A Sweet Controversy

Artist: Cosimo Cavallaro Title: Sweet Jesus Date: 2005 Medium: Chocolate

As we all know artists have created controversial works for a long time but, especially in recent decades. Sometimes it seems that it is almost a requirement to stir up some trouble in order for an artist to be seen and get their name and their works out there. One of the most controversial works of the last few decades is Piss Christ by Andres Serrano (1987) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piss_Christ ; but, I personally do not find this work to have as much interest for students or provide a teachable moment as strong as discussing Sweet Jesus by Cosimo Cavallaro (pictured above).

One of the main reasons for this is because of a great interview that was on Anderson Cooper 360 where the artist and Bill Donohue, current president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights in the U.S., go head to head arguing over the appropriateness of the image. It was originally displayed during Holy Week prior to Easter in March 2007 at the Roger Smith Hotel in Manhattan, but it was taken down after receiving threats from Bill Donohue. During the interview, both men make valid points and also act completely juvenile slinging insults back and forth as if they were in the schoolyard, including Donohue saying that the sculpture should go to New Jersey because that's where New Yorkers send their trash...way to anger an entire state there...and Cavallaro claiming that he intended no controversy...sure you didn't, you just happened to make a life-size nude Christ sculpture and just happened to have it displayed prominently during Holy Week, it must have been a total coincidence right?

It is a great clip to open up discussion about opposing sides to every work of art, controversial artworks, critical thinking and not always taking everything you hear/see/read at face value, and examining a cleverness about the work that the artist never stated in the interview: chocolate is directly related to Easter even though it isn't part of the religious tradition at all, yet the work relates to the Eucharist of the Mass (THE focal point) where one consumes the body and blood of Christ, because one can literally consume this chocolate image of Christ. Personally, I think it was a really clever choice of materials and timing of the exhibition that relates to ideas of consumerism, religion, and challenging politically correct conventions. It is great for students because they are always ready to comment after viewing the work and the video clip. Usually as I am showing the clip I hear students say "oh my God" and "whoa" when Donohue verbally slams New Jersey and calls artists and people in SoHo losers.


You can find the work with some audio commentary by Cavallaro at his website: http://www.cosimocavallaro.com/

Below is the clip from YouTube so you can judge for yourself.


May inspiration and creativity be with you!

Greeks Started It All

This week I thought I would treat us to a little foundations in the birth of the western eye, The Spear Bearer (Doryphoros) by Polykleitos from ancient Greece, created about 450 BCE.

Polykleitos created this work (originally bronze, this puppy is a marble Roman copy) to illustrate his theories about art and the human figure from his treatise "The Canon." If you connected this to the fact the list of acceptable and famed art works the world over are referred to as the canon then extra brownie points for you!!

He is meant to be young, idealized, perfected, yet realistic and properly proportioned as he is in the contrappasto pose, with one leg bent and in motion with his hips tilted slightly as his head gazes off into the distance before him.

May inspiration and creativity be with you!

Controversial New Sculpture

Entropa by David Cerny, January 2009, outside the European Union in Brussels.

As I was catching up on some reading on the latest controversial works by artists, I came across this odd piece by artist David Cerny titled Entropa. The sculpture was created for and installed outside the entryway to the European Union in Brussels. The work was supposed to have been a collaboration between 27 artists and a somewhat patriotic and non-controversial work to celebrate the Czech Republic's presidency of the council of the European Union.

It is customary for the presiding country to place an exhibit in the Justus building to mark their presidency of the EU, and it is usually rather uncontroversial, such as when France, the previous holder of the presidency, erected a large balloon clad in the nation's colors of red, white and blue. Instead of an ordinary patriotic message or a collaboration among 27 people as it was supposed to happen, David Cerny and three assistants got together, faked artist profiles and descriptions of their supposed contributions, and created this satirical and controversial work depicting stereotypes of EU nations.

The other pickle in the works here is that the sculpture was ordered to be taken down; but, not by any of the nations depicted in vulgar and inflammatory ways. The artist, David Cerny, demanded his work be moved as a protest against political upheaval in his own country. It amazes me honestly, that none of the people visiting the building or those working within it seemed upset by the blatant mocking of their nations outside the building where so many politicians scurry off to discuss important maters of state relations. The little devil on my shoulder also wonders what Mr. Cerny would have done had he tackled the idea of making a piece for the U.S. in such a satirical and mischievous manner....??

Pictured below are details of four of the countries on the piece:

Bulgaria - represented as a Turkish toilet

France - represented by its near constant striking

Denmark - represented by Lego pieces in the shape of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (referring to the Jyllands-Posten cartoons controversy)

Poland - represented by priests wielding and planting in the ground the pride flag

May inspiration and creativity be with you!

Laughing Is Allowed

Title: The Descent of the Ganges. Location: Mamallapuram, India. Date: 7th C. Medium: Granite. Size: height approx. 30'


I often think that one of the reasons people "don't like" art is because they are afraid they must always be serious around it. For a person who has not studied the visual arts in-depth, they can often seem confusing, elitist, and humorless. O contraire mes amis!! One of my favorite pieces of art is The Descent of the Ganges pictured above. This work shows that even in serious religious art (it is a Hindu piece) there can be hidden gems and a wonderful sense of humor.

Below are two closeup images of the work that demonstrate this for the viewer. In the carving, there is a gorge going straight down through the middle which, is in place for water to come flowing down and fill up the pool below. Directly to the left of this "waterfall" we see an ascetic: he has spent much time in a difficult meditative pose, not allowing himself food or water, to show his serious religious devotion to Shiva. As a reward for such staunch efforts, Shiva is granting him a "boon," or what is his heart's desire.

If we trace our eyes diagonally down from this scene across the "waterfall" we see what at first appears to be another ascetic showing his deep devotion. Upon further investigation it becomes clear that this is no man but a cat who is surrounded by mice at his hind paws. This cat has cleverly imitated the holy and righteous actions of the ascetic in order to trick the mice into thinking he is benevolent and would not harm them. O contraire my little rodent friends, he is indeed going to eat you for dinner!

So the lesson for today is twofold: never judge a book (or cat) by it's cover, and do not assume art doesn't have a sense of humor.

    

May inspiration and creativity be with you!

Another Museum Renovation

On Monday, the first lady, Michelle Obama, visited New York to promote the arts by attending opening night at the American Ballet Theater

and the reopening of part of the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. During the visit, Mrs. Obama said several encouraging things, such as:

“The arts are not just a nice thing to have,” she said, adding that the arts “define who we are as a people”

and

“My husband and I believe strongly that arts education is essential for building innovative thinkers who will be our nation’s leaders of tomorrow”

and

“The president and I want to ensure that all children have access to great works of art.”

This is the second phase of a major, three-phase reordering and upgrading of the American Wing at the Met in NYC. For more information on the various phases and even a video of first-lady Michelle Obama at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, please see: http://www.metmuseum.org/special/se_event.asp?OccurrenceId={D81BC4AF-DD28-411E-862D-3B70B26C1C14.

The quotations are from the NY Times here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/nyregion/19michelle.html?ref=arts.

May inspiration and creativity be with you!

35,000 Year Old Venus Figure Found

This tiny statuette dubbed the Venus of Hohle Fels was uncovered in September in a cave in southwestern Germany, near Ulm and the Danube headwaters. The small figurine of a woman is exciting the world of art and archaeology because previously the Paleolithic era only has only shown us examples of art depicting drawings being of mammoths, horses, and other animals. The figure is approximately 2.5 inches long and carved from ivory.

Other images of voluptuous female figures with pronounced genitals have been found and much debated amongst scholars, such as the Venus of Willendorf, c.26,000 BCE, carved limestone (above); but, none as old as this newest figurine that is being dated approximately c.33,000 BCE. Prominent scholars in the field, like Dr. Mellars, are concluding that these current finds (like the Venus of Hohle Fels) will rapidly change our point of view on the history of art and European civilizations. In the NY Times, he is quoted as saying that these sites "must be seen as the birthplace of true sculpture in the European — maybe global — artistic tradition.”

For more on this, I suggest reading the Times article, checking out images, and even some video here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/science/14venus.html.

May inspiration and creativity be with you!