Rubbing Botero the wrong way
Adam by Botero – Photo by Dan Brinzac“I had a customer here who was laughing, saying, ‘You can see his peepee is a different color because people are always touching it,’ ” recalled a store manager who requested not to be identified.
A building worker, who also asked that his name not be used, said, “Legend would have it that when they put him in here, he wasn’t smiling.”
Justin Kugel, 28, a student who was shopping last night, said, “I’ve seen people rubbing it and having their picture taken. That’s kind of gross.”
There’s a Botero statue of Eve nearby — and some people pat her bountiful booty, another shop owner said.
David Benrimon, who owns a Manhattan art gallery with “one of the largest collections of Botero in the world,” said the artist was not aware of the personal attention “Adam” was getting.
“I was with him. I didn’t mention it,” Benrimon said. “It’s interaction in art. People like to touch.”
[From Shoppers at the Time Warner Center rub Botero statue's genitalia - NYPOST.com]
The sculptures of Adam and Eve by Botero are receiving some close attention at the Time Warner center, so much so that the repeated rubbing has changed the color of the bronze patina on Adam’s penis to a gold that helps it really stand out.
I can’t decide if I’m thrilled or horrified by all this.. on one hand people are interacting with art, they’re enjoying it and it’s making an impact in a positive way – so that’s all good. but on the other, they’re all seeing everything in the most puerile light! I guess it’s to be expected that the lowest common denominator will prevail, but must it always be so low? or should we be glad that nudes are being celebrated, that nobody seems to care that they’re nudes and in the public eye (and hands)?
What do you think? is this ultimately a victory or a setback? what would Botero think?
controversial giant breasts sculpture
Sorry I’ve been so out of it lately, I’ve been ill and sore. I started a number of blog posts, only to realize that they made no sense! hopefully I will be back on top of things soon.in the meantime, this is an interesting video that came across my screen, it caught my eye because lately I’ve had times where I feel like this! it does hit at our identity in some ways, often women are not only judged by their breasts but base our identities as women on them.
it’s an interesting concept. ‘how big do we want our breasts to be’ has come under attack, literally, for it’s controversial nature but I think it makes an excellent point. There is so much focus on the idea that bigger is better, that all we need is enhancement to be as sexy as possible. if my email is anything to go by anyway! I see so many ridiculous morphs in 3D art that make these sculptures seem practically normal. these concepts are often created by men with infantile mammalian fantasies. it’s interesting that this sculpture was created by a male, I think it’s really interesting and well executed. it’s a shame they’ve felt the need to censor the sculptures.
breastfeeding inspires emotive sculpture
Big Mother - Further images at Patricia Piccinini's website
The Sierra Leone-born, Melbourne-based artist decided to give up in her failed attempts to breastfeed when her sister suggested she practise with her own six-month-old son.
“I thought, `I can’t do that. I’m not just an animal, and I am not a lactating animal for some other baby’,” she said. “But then this six-month-old taught me how to breastfeed, and how to breastfeed my own child.”
The work is confronting on many levels – from the stark, hairless nudity of the animal, its gorilla-sized arms and legs and baboon’s bottom and genitals, to the idea humans could engineer humanoid beasts as slaves.
A friend recently wrote about this work on his blog and I was intrigued by the concept. this piece is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful, saddest and disturbing sculptures I’ve ever seen. on Patricia Piccinini’s website are further detail images showing the depth of detail and emotion in this piece.
The story rings on a very personal note. as a breastfeeding mother myself I can relate to her struggles at the beginning, breastfeeding a newborn is a tricky thing and during such an emotional time it is very easy to give up. I remember how many times I would have killed for a wet nurse! I think her friend was a genius to suggest she try an older child, perhaps it’s something more new mothers should consider. I wonder how I would have felt at that suggestion, you do feel like an animal- we joke about being a cow but it is a very animalistic action, based in nature and going back to our most primal roots. how wonderful that this suggestion has spawned such an interesting work.
nude art causes mass suicide scare in NYC
Oops.. this is a really interesting concept, and it probably says a lot about the way people interact. it’s nice to see people caring and reporting their concerns for others, but one also has to wonder if this project was that well thought out. the artist Anthony Gormley intended to play with the city and people’s perceptions, but I wonder if he anticipated this sort of issue. I know if I were him I would have been prepared for the usual controversies, but to create a mass suicide scare, well, it certainly drew attention to his art!
nude censored under glass in Britain
This Is Me (Who Am I) by Marie WhiteThe modesty of a nude sculpture has been hidden by frosted glass in a gallery’s window after complaints led to police intervention.
Police said the model at the A Gallery, in Wimbledon, south-west London, was deemed offensive under the Indecent Displays Act 1991.Artist Marie White, 24, said she did not intend the piece, entitled This Is Me (Who Am I), to cause offence.
Scotland Yard said officers gave a man and woman “advice” at the gallery.
Ms White, a student at the Wimbledon School of Art, said: “She’s not posing in a lewd, crude way so the reaction of males that they can’t view a nude sculpture and not imprint the sexual aspect onto her, I find that quite surprising really.
[From BBC NEWS | UK | England | London | Artist's naked ambition censored ]
it amazes me that something like this actually warrants a visit from the cops. don’t they have something better to do? I’m lucky enough to have A Gallery and their director in my contacts so I asked Fraser Kee Scott for his opinion on the matter.
Personally I find it strange that you can have naked breasts on page 3 of the biggest selling paper in England, but can’t put a nude sculpture in a window. If you hide something and insist it is hidden then it becomes a strange and curious thing – and to do that to something 1/2 of the people on Earth have – breasts – then that causes trouble.
This piece is entirely non sexual. in fact, it’s no more arousing than a storefront dummy that is in the process of being dressed. it’s an interesting concept and I would like to see more of the piece. England is very strange in it’s censorship laws. there seem to be many disparate and opposing views. from the sublime to the ridiculous.
I hope that the frosted glass will enable the gallery more walk in traffic, people intrigued by the censorship, what is obscured and what it all means. Perhaps the censorship will, in fact, create the opposite effect- I can always hope!
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