CENSORING REAL ART
New York Art Shuttered
After Bush Monkey Portrait

From Reuters via Yahoo, courtesy of J. Orlin Grabbe:

A portrait of President Bush using monkeys to form his image led to the closure of a New York art exhibition over the weekend and anguished protests on Monday over freedom of expression.

"Bush Monkeys," a small acrylic on canvas by Chris Savido, created the stir at the Chelsea Market public space, leading the market's managers to close down the 60-piece show that was scheduled to stay up for the next month.

The show featured art from the upcoming issue of Animal Magazine, a quarterly publication featuring emerging artists.

"We had tons of people, like more than 2,000 people show up for the opening on Thursday night," said show organizer Bucky Turco. "Then this manager saw the piece and the guy just kind of flipped out. 'The show is over. Get this work down or I'm gonna arrest you,' he said. It's been kind of wild."

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This is weird, especially in New York. I mean, I remember this kind of crap happening for about a year or so after 9/11, but after all the mud-slinging from the election, it's pretty weird. I wonder if the rednecks are feeling brave with their boy back for four more years. When coupled with the suppression of Naked Boys Singing (see post below), I wonder if I should start to get worried.

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