- (AP) -- A portrait of President Bush using monkeys to
form his image led to the closure of a New York art exhibition over the
weekend and anguished protests on Monday over freedom of expression.
-
- "Bush Monkeys," a small acrylic on canvas by
Chris Savido, created the stir at the Chelsea Market public space, leading
the market's managers to close down the 60-piece show that was scheduled
to stay up for the next month.
-
- The show featured art from the upcoming issue of Animal
Magazine, a quarterly publication featuring emerging artists.
-
- "We had tons of people, like more than 2,000 people
show up for the opening on Thursday night," said show organizer Bucky
Turco.
-
- "Then this manager saw the piece and the guy just
kind of flipped out. 'The show is over. Get this work down or I'm gonna
arrest you,' he said. It's been kind of wild."
-
- Turco took the show down on Saturday and moved the art
work to his small downtown Animal Gallery. Calls to the management of Chelsea
Market for comment were not returned.
-
- From afar, the painting offers a likeness of Bush, but
when you get closer you see the image is made up of chimpanzees or monkeys
swimming in a marsh.
-
- Savido, 23, said he was surprised by the strong reaction
to his painting, listed in the catalog at
- $3,500.
-
- "It seems like people got a kick out of it,"
Savido said. "When they really see it, they almost do a double-take.
I like to get a reaction from people."
-
- The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-bred artist said he was
happy for all the attention paid to his work but said the decision to shutter
the exhibit was "a blatant act of censorship."
-
- Savido plans to auction the painting and donate proceeds
to an organization dedicated to freedom of expression.
-
- "This is much deeper than art. This is fundamental
American rights, freedom of speech," Savido said. "To see that
something like this can happen, especially in a place like New York City
is mind boggling and scary."
-
- http://www.propagandamatrix.com/articles/december2004/141204bushmonkey.htm
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