BURN BABY BURN

Some of you who watch me know that I am interested in the intersections of art and politics and the use of art as political statement.

I want to applaud Antonio Manfredi, the director of an Italian museum in Cadoria, who is protesting the reduction of public funding for the arts by burning original artworks in the museum's collection. [link]

Maybe Mr. Manfredi is evil and maybe the burning of the art is an over-the-top response to the possibility that he won't be making as much money as he used to.  Maybe he's a thug in that sense.  Or maybe he's a hero for the visual arts.  Some artists are sending him works to burn and others are emulating his burnings as protests of art funding cutbacks in their own regions.  As in most things human, he's likely to be a little bit good and a little bit bad.

But, Mr. Manfredi is juiced!  He gets props just for that - - the Hunter S. Thompson Gonzo Award In The Arts - - as if there were such a thing.

PS.  While governments cut back on art funding, dA launched the deviantART Creative Grants. [link]