Dobbs Town
27-12-2004, 09:21
http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2004/12/23/Arts/bushmonkeys041223.html
Banned Bush portrait finds new home
Last Updated Thu, 23 Dec 2004 16:34:50 EST
NEW YORK - A banned painting of U.S. President George W. Bush that is composed of smaller images of monkeys has found a new home, projected on a giant billboard in Manhattan.
The portrait, called Bush Monkeys, is the work of artist Chris Savido.
It was part of an exhibition of 60 works at the Chelsea Market, but the managers of the public space shut the show down earlier this month.
Although no reason has been given publicly for doing so, the show's organizer, Bucky Turco, said the exhibit was closed following a threat from a Bush supporter to boycott the show.
In response, anonymous donors paid this week to have the painting projected above the entrance to the Holland Tunnel, where it will be seen by roughly 400,000 commuters every day.
From a distance, Bush Monkeys appears to be an unremarkable portrait of Bush.
On closer examination, the acrylic-on-canvas work proves to be a double image – Bush's face is actually made up of monkeys in a marsh.
On his website, Savido says the painting is a reaction to Bush's blurring of the traditional separation of church and state in the U.S.
"The chimps symbolize the shared biological ancestry of all humanity (including that of President Bush)," Savido explains.
The original 18-by-24-inch painting has also been put up for sale on the internet auction site EBay.
Some of the proceeds will go toward a charity that buys body armour for U.S. troops in Iraq. Although Savido opposes the occupation, he says he has some close friends serving there.
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Click the link to see the portait. I wish they had a closeup.
Banned Bush portrait finds new home
Last Updated Thu, 23 Dec 2004 16:34:50 EST
NEW YORK - A banned painting of U.S. President George W. Bush that is composed of smaller images of monkeys has found a new home, projected on a giant billboard in Manhattan.
The portrait, called Bush Monkeys, is the work of artist Chris Savido.
It was part of an exhibition of 60 works at the Chelsea Market, but the managers of the public space shut the show down earlier this month.
Although no reason has been given publicly for doing so, the show's organizer, Bucky Turco, said the exhibit was closed following a threat from a Bush supporter to boycott the show.
In response, anonymous donors paid this week to have the painting projected above the entrance to the Holland Tunnel, where it will be seen by roughly 400,000 commuters every day.
From a distance, Bush Monkeys appears to be an unremarkable portrait of Bush.
On closer examination, the acrylic-on-canvas work proves to be a double image – Bush's face is actually made up of monkeys in a marsh.
On his website, Savido says the painting is a reaction to Bush's blurring of the traditional separation of church and state in the U.S.
"The chimps symbolize the shared biological ancestry of all humanity (including that of President Bush)," Savido explains.
The original 18-by-24-inch painting has also been put up for sale on the internet auction site EBay.
Some of the proceeds will go toward a charity that buys body armour for U.S. troops in Iraq. Although Savido opposes the occupation, he says he has some close friends serving there.
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Click the link to see the portait. I wish they had a closeup.