Bubba-Joe
12-15-2004, 01:56 PM
Shocking Portrait of Bush Creates Uproar
It's just a small acrylic on canvas, but the Chris Savido portrait of President George W. Bush that uses monkeys to form his image has led to the closure of a New York art exhibition, reports Reuters. Titled "Bush Monkeys," the painting looks like Bush from a distance, but up close one can see the image is actually made up of chimpanzees or monkeys swimming in a marsh. While some people are outraged over the painting, others decry the shut-down of the 60-piece art show at the Chelsea Market public space in New York City as a violation of freedom of expression. "We had tons of people, like more than 2,000 people show up for the opening on Thursday night," show organizer Bucky Turco told Reuters. "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 down the show and moved it to his small downtown Animal Gallery. All the paintings in the show were featured art from the upcoming issue of Animal Magazine, a quarterly publication featuring emerging artists, notes Reuters.
It's just a small acrylic on canvas, but the Chris Savido portrait of President George W. Bush that uses monkeys to form his image has led to the closure of a New York art exhibition, reports Reuters. Titled "Bush Monkeys," the painting looks like Bush from a distance, but up close one can see the image is actually made up of chimpanzees or monkeys swimming in a marsh. While some people are outraged over the painting, others decry the shut-down of the 60-piece art show at the Chelsea Market public space in New York City as a violation of freedom of expression. "We had tons of people, like more than 2,000 people show up for the opening on Thursday night," show organizer Bucky Turco told Reuters. "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 down the show and moved it to his small downtown Animal Gallery. All the paintings in the show were featured art from the upcoming issue of Animal Magazine, a quarterly publication featuring emerging artists, notes Reuters.