25 September,2010 07:48 AM IST | | Agencies
Brazilian artist Gil Vicente sparks off debate on the eve of his gallery opening; his paintings depict him assassinating World Leaders including former US prez George Bush
Brazilian artist Gil Vincente's fantasies of the assassination of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the former US President George W Bush and Pope Benedict XVI has sparked off a lively debate on the eve of the opening of the Biennale of Sao Paulo.
Removal of art
Nine charcoal self-portraits of the artist Gil Vicente representing imaginary scenes where he kills the world leaders have led the College of Lawyers of Brazil to request the removal of the works of the famous Biennale, which opens tomorrow.
Brazilian artist Gil Vicente poses for a portrait in front of his works, which the Brazilian authorities believe are violent in nature
"They allege that it condones crime? Theft of public money is not a crime? And the reports on violence on TV is not a crime! Are only my paintings a glorification of crime?" exclaimed an angry Vicente in an interview.
The artist of 52 years, a native of Recife (northeast), and the organisers of the Biennale held firm and say that the works must be submitted in one of the main rooms, as expected.
"They wanted to remove the works. No, no way. Why remove them? People have the right to see them," said Vicente said, stressing that it was a question of artistic freedom.
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"Although a work of art freely expresses the creativity of its author, to expose it publicly there must be limits," argues the ATO, a regulatory body for artworks in a statement asking the curators to remove the paintings.
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They refused and said that one of the "basic qualities of our institution is our independence and freedom of expression.
The works do not reflect the opinion of the curators nor the Biennale Foundation."
'Enemies'
The series of nine charcoal drawings of 2 meters height by 1.50 meters wide made between 2005 and 2006 is titled Enemies and costs $260,000 (Rs 1 crore) and can be sold only or as a whole.
According to Vicente, the paintings began in 2005 with the portrait of Bush where the latter appears to be on his knees, hands tied behind his back, as the artist puts a gun to his head.
The personalities 'executed' by Vicente, include former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The strongest image is one in which he represented the process of gutting the throat of Brzilian President Lula, who is tied to a chair.
According to Vicente, the violence does not indicate any personal grievance against him.
In another drawing, Vicente shines a gun to the neck of former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995-2003), seated and secured well.
Originally, his idea was to use different weapons for each murder, but after that of Bush, the artist decided to kill all the others in one shot.
The idea came after people had to face disappointment at the hand of the world leaders.
"As they kill so many people, it would be better to kill them," said Vicente.
