San Francisco Art Institute's current exhibition, Adel Abdessemed's "Don't Trust Me" -- originally slated to run through May 31 -- has been yanked in its entirety after an uproar over video depictions of animal cruelty in the show. The Examiner reported earlier this week that the Institute was holding fast and planned to keep the show running, but apparently they've changed their tune.
The offending bits (see video still above) include clips of six animals, among them a sheep, ox, pig, goat, and (aww!) doe being bludgeoned to death with a sledgehammer. More after the jump ...
Nonstarvingartists.com has a thorough description of the exhibit along with stills from several of the video clips in question. A public discussion with several SFAI officials has been scheduled for noon this Monday, March 31. San Francisco SPCA President Jan McHugh-Smith chimed in today with the expected outrage:
"This type of work, masquerading as art, degrades the reputation of everyone associated with it ... There is no artistic merit in cruelty to, and suffering of, living creatures. Nor is there any social or cultural message so imperative that it warrants such gratuitous brutality and callousness. This shameful exhibit calls into question the humanity of the 'artist'."
While it's certainly not pleasant to see animals violently killed, all the outrage aimed toward the artist and the SFAI seems somewhat misplaced. After all, isn't there a larger point to this work? As the SFAI's statement points out:
"The video images in Abdessemed’s exhibition are images of events that took place—and regularly take place—in the real world. Their being depicted in video by Abdessemed is part of a long representational tradition, in Western art and beyond. It goes without saying that the motives underlying that representational tradition have often been to criticize and to question the practices of the larger culture of which that tradition is a part."
No matter what becomes of this show, Monday's public discussion is sure to be lively.
Image courtesy/nonstarvingartists.com
-- B.B.
This, along with the "starving dog" last year from Costa Rica is a most disgusting and disturbing exhibit.
Just what are we supposed to glean from this? That animal cruelty exists. Duh. This "art" institute should be very, very ashamed of themselves for even thinking of showing this. All our young people need is to see more violence. Isn't there enough cruelty to go around already?
S. Morgan
Posted at: March 27, 2008 12:51 PM