Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Maurizio Cattelan's Sculpture.


The BBC calls the sculpture 'disgusting' . Naturally, there is some controversy surrounding this particular work by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, which is on display in the Piazza d'Affari outside the Milan stock exchange.

The BBC article suggests that the middle finger is anti-capitalist - showing contempt for the financial kingpins inside the building. The folks at designboom.com (which has several photos of the sculpture on the website) are of the same opinion, saying Cattelan is "giving the finger to bankers".

From the way I see it, the message given is quite the opposite. As we see, the palm of the hand is facing the building.....those of us looking at the statue are seeing the back of the hand. From this angle, it is the bankers who are giving us the finger.

If, by chance, the good people in Milan wish to have the sculpture removed, I'd like to see it moved to Washington, D.C.......placed in front of the White House. We have to be sure, though, that it's turned the right way.

3 comments:

Brandon B. said...

I have to say that I like your idea of putting that up in front of the white house... only for the time being though, we should probably take that down in 2012 when Obama is voted out! ;)

Larry Denninger said...

Although given the fact that Obama has actually flipped the finger during his speeches (he scratches his chin or cheek with his middle finger from time to time), putting this statue in front of the White House might actually be interpreted as what he thinks of America's opinion. So, yes, setting it up in the proper orientation would be important.

Robert Simms said...

We all know Obama's opinion of the American people.....it's our turn to show him how we feel; November is right around the corner.