Art of Controversy Titled “The Spear,” this painting by Brett Murray, on display at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg, features South African President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed. The provocative work has become a lightning rod within the art world. Two days ago, two Zuma supporters vandalized it, drawing a red “X” over the face and smearing black paint all over the portrait.Critics don’t like it. They allege that it’s not only vulgar, but also derivative, copying the same style and color scheme artist Shepherd Fairey employed in his famous poster of President Barack Obama, except with an obscene twist. Zuma himself doesn’t like it. He insisted that it be removed from the art gallery, and demanded photos of it be taken down from local newspaper website. And evidently, some art patrons don’t like it either. This incident isn’t the first time that a work of art has caused a scandal. We took a look at artwork that has been viewed as too controversial through the years. keep reading

Art of Controversy

Titled “The Spear,” this painting by Brett Murray, on display at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg, features South African President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed. The provocative work has become a lightning rod within the art world. Two days ago, two Zuma supporters vandalized it, drawing a red “X” over the face and smearing black paint all over the portrait.

Critics don’t like it. They allege that it’s not only vulgar, but also derivative, copying the same style and color scheme artist Shepherd Fairey employed in his famous poster of President Barack Obama, except with an obscene twist. Zuma himself doesn’t like it. He insisted that it be removed from the art gallery, and demanded photos of it be taken down from local newspaper website. And evidently, some art patrons don’t like it either.

This incident isn’t the first time that a work of art has caused a scandal.

We took a look at artwork that has been viewed as too controversial through the years.

keep reading

Source: news.discovery.com

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  11. seafoamispretty said: Looks pretty cool with the audience participation/vandalization. Isn’t the best art supposed to inspire, after all?
  12. robbiexwhite reblogged this from discoverynews and added:
    Maybe it’s just the punk rock in me, but this painting makes a stronger statement after the vandals had their fun.
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  17. nhaler reblogged this from discoverynews and added:
    Sure, but now that it’s been vandalized and pillaged of its original banality, it’s utterly rich with meaning; who can...
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  20. blyujay said: art doing its job
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