Yep, the title says it all. Another artist out to get publicity. Although Yazmany Arboleda is American his parents are from Colombia and as such his latest exhibition entitled “The Assassination of Barack Obama” and “The Assassination of Hillary Clinton” has made the front page of El Tiempo newspaper, the most widely read newspaper in Colombia .
Unfortunately the exhibition is in New York so I have not seen it. However, it has had its title censored by the NYC police. Now, I hate it when artists overtly look for publicity – even though I know it is very necessary in order to stand out form the many competitors – and by using this title Arboleda is very well aware about the stir it would cause. However I hate it even more when there is such over-reaction to a simple title of an exhibition. Arboleda will probably go back to obscurity once the exhibition ends – but the acts of the police will not.
Does the title of the work stimulate some nutcase to go out and realize the act defined? Perhaps – but they would probably need a little more provocation than that to give them a motive. But what we do see is that the US is no longer the country it once was. Land of the free – home of the brave? Hardly.
- So, free speech is no longer tolerated.
- If you wish to go to visit the US, even though you don`t need a visa, you must register for pre-clearance via internet prior to traveling.
- The US has floating prisons ships – old fashioned hulks.
- It has resorted to illegal torture of its own citizens and others.
- It is one of the few countries in the modern world to sill embrace the death penalty.
- Obama has claimed as one of his political aims to embrace protectionism and as such he is not in favor of signing the free trade agreement with Colombia . . . . and there are a huge number of similar signs that I could mention that America is no longer what it is still perceived by many to be. Ans I think that`s sad.
America – The New China?
So, what has this to do with art and art in Colombia?
America is changing and since abstract expresionism was born it has been a leader in the arts fields. Where were Russia and China in the arts during this period? Absolutely nowhere. And this is most probably what will happen to Art in America if it continues on its path to becoming the new China just as rapidly a s China becomes the New America.
As one of Colombias`s closest neighbours we will probably find that opportunities for Colombian artists to go to the US and present their work will probably either simply diminish or not be worth their while. Many top Colombian artists like Manzur, Grau and Negret made their name in Colombia via their exhibitions in the US.
Colombian artists will now have to start looking for more serious venues I imagine – one that will not be censored. France, the UK . . . . heck, maybe I should include China and Russia as new potential venues where Colombian artists can develop their careers – because it sure looks like the US will no longer hold much value in the world arts scene.
So, to sum up. Even though I am a fan of what Arboleda has done with his exhibition title, art is leading the way in exposing the major forces of change that will soon make America an art wasteland. And a pity that is too.
More info:
Police-and-secret-service-shut-down-assassination-art-exhibit
Video created of newsflash when first exhibition was closed down:
I would normally put up a link to the artists site, but since I think he was looking more to create a controversy than a real artistic project – in this case – I`ll let you do the search if you are interested! 🙂
* Here`s a link to the story as reported by the New York Times => LINK
The most significant question, as the article suggests, is not the debatable motive of Mr. Arboleda in the mounting of this exhibit — it is the functioning of the Secret Service as a secret-police agency that closes down art exhibits by artists who have clearly committed no crime simply because they oppose this regime, this dictatorship. That Mr. Arboleda may have deliberately tried to court controversy in a facile manner, the strength of his ideas, the possible cynicism of his exhibit, are all irrelevant to the issue about which all artists in the United States and even abroad should be screaming — the lack of freedom for artists in the “free” United States.
Don’t get the United States historical contradictions twisted. The exhibit was NOT shut down but the not-too-well-thought-out stenciling on the windows was covered up. The omission of one word-“Character “was either a foible of fatigue or an act of genius. Censorship…in the form of Br’er Rabbit’s briar patch. The artist got FREE publicity in the freaking’ NY TIMES with more than his 15-minutes of fame and a LOT more of people NOW know WHO he is. Yazgany Arboleda (Gates scholarship winner-BTW) definitely represents the vulnerable populations in the U.S. by being Hispanic/Latino, gay, and probably a person of color. Others are children, black, female, disabled, and elderly, and more. It is almost comical that his most formidable attackers are people he thought would get his “Clunk”-over-the-head message and give him props for “telling it like it IS”. However, Yazmany did not learn the most important things about going out into the big bad bigoted world on his own: Manners and safety…Not necessarily in that order. He is fortunate that he did not become another Rodney King or Matthew Sheppard because he assumed he could put his unintentionally offense signs and art up in public without a preamble (Really dumb move) or support from community/thought leaders who understood the message. WHY did he not insert the word “Character” in front of “Assassination”? I bet the feds wouldn’t have stepped in. Manners when dealing with THE man!!!
It seems that Yazmany did not realize that the U.S. declaration of independence did not and still does not apply to all of its citizens. Heck, U.S. Presidents Jefferson and Washington were slave owners. Arboleda may live in America but he knows nothing about U.S. or Black history. We, who have had our “Bigots Rule” wake up call got Arboleda’s intent. Unfortunately his detractors also did not get or manipulated the artist’s message. Allowing this to happen destroyed any safety from apprehension or mob violence. Yazmany should change his name to Lucky Latino. Senator Obama got his wake call a LONG time ago and knows that even when he becomes President of the most powerful country in the world, he will still have to “remembers in his place”. It’s disgusting, but he’s got his manners and safety thing on point for the sake of the prize and his family.
So now that Arboleda has had his “Bigots Rule” wake up call, maybe he will be more clever in ensuring that his baby does not get tossed out with the bathwater. Yazmany is still a nobody in the art world. Until he achieves Mapplethorpe-status his feet will still be held to the fire by the ignorant and sometimes powerful public observers. I wish him continued success.
If Mr.Yazmany Arboleda really wanted to make a statement he should have had his exhibit in Mississippi, Louisiana,West Virginia or any red state. They would have loved his art work down there……..
IF he had talent, and IF there were really something somewhere to protest, this might be worth a mention. I think it says something about the less-than 15 minutes of fame that Y.A. got that I only saw this in an email today.
“America is no longer what it is still perceived by many to be.” Who the hell knows what America is “perceived to be” anymore? A great retail spot for Colombian drugs? A nation of patsies that allowed itself to get taken & bankrupted by Bush and his gang of thieves and barbarians? A bank from which endless “aid” withdrawals are made by by foreign countries?
Whatever America is perceived to be, those who lived through American history since 1960 are a bit “sensitized,” if you will, by the combination of the word “assassination” with the name of any public, politicized figure, either in government & the arts. None of the people who assassinated John and Bobby Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, John Lennon, the 3 civil rights workers killed in Mississippi, and many others, needed more than a nudge — a public statement or two that indicated this was OK & acceptable to some people. Looking through pictures of this “exhibition,” it’s either so heavily ironic that the irony is lost, or the “Freudian slip” of leaving out the word “character” is no real slip at all. Stop the whining over this nobody. There are better and truer ways of becoming a valid artist than this puerile, envious shriek.