Art scandals

Nataraja-Shiva-2004-bronze-2-meters-installation-view-CERN-Meyrin-Switzerland feat

Why is there a statue of Shiva the Destroyer at CERN? Your questions answered

Sculptures, Statues / 9 minutes of reading

If you have been keeping up with the happenings of the CERN, the world’s most advanced scientific research facility, you might have noticed the statue of Shiva the Destroyer. Shiva, the cosmic dancer, symbolizes the natural flow of divine energy. He takes part in Rudra Tandava – a dance representing destruction and rebirth- to …

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African Renaissance Monument, 2010, bronze, 49 meter (161 feet), Ouakam suburb, Dakar, Senegal feat

The African Renaissance Monument – Africa’s most controversial statue

Sculptures, Statues / 12 minutes of reading

This 49 meters tall bronze statue is located on top of the Collines des Mamelles – one of the twin hills – in the Senegalese capital Dakar. It overlooks the Atlantic Ocean just outside the city in the Ouakam neighborhood. The African Renaissance Monument was designed by renowned Senegalese architect Pierre Goudiaby Atepa following …

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Jennifer Rubell - Ivanka Vacuuming, 2019, performance, Flashpoint Gallery, Washington D.C. feat

Ivanka vacuuming & Why throwing her crumbs makes you feel powerful

Performances / 6 minutes of reading

Live art is not common, yet it is the only form of expression that would bring out a real-life perception. Ivanka Vacuuming is one of such artworks, created by an American artist Jennifer Rubell. In the live-streamed performance, a model look-alike of Ivanka Trump is recorded vacuuming crumbs from a carpet. The art piece, …

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Banksy – Cardinal Sin, 2006, defaced stone bust, bathroom tiles, 180 x 40 x 40 cm feat

Banksy’s Cardinal Sin – An expose of rot within this institution

Sculptures, Street Art / 5 minutes of reading

This piece by Banksy is unlike anything he has done before. For the street artist, vandalizing an ancient statue and putting on it his personal touch drove the intended message home. Looking at the sculpture, it is clearly the bust of a catholic priest, complete with a cross pendant and mass vestments. …

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Why did some hate Pablo Picasso’s Chicago sculpture?

Sculptures / 10 minutes of reading

Pablo Picasso was born in 1881 in Malaga, Spain. His father was a respected art teacher, and because of this, Pablo attended the prestigious Academy in Barcelona when he was just 14 years old. It was here that he painted his first work titled Girl with Bare Feet. After two years …

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Why was Sally Mann’s Immediate Family so controversial?

Photography / 10 minutes of reading

Immediate Family is a photography book produced in 1992 by Sally Mann. The groundbreaking and controversial book was published by the international quarterly journal Aperture and is made of 65 duotone portraits. The book features exclusively Mann’s three children, Virginia, Jessie, and Emmett, who are also on the book’s front cover. Thirteen of the …

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Huang Yong Ping – Theater of the World, 1987:1993 feat

Huang Yong Ping’s controversial Theater of the World

Installations / 4 minutes of reading

Who was Huang Yong Ping Huang Yong Ping was a contemporary artist, born and raised in Xiamen, China. In the last decades, he has created numerous contentious and confrontational artworks. Huang is known as one of the most influential Chinese contemporary artists. His artworks include sculptures, installations, and paintings. He was an icon in the …

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Maurizio Cattelan’s America & The stolen golden toilet

Installations / 5 minutes of reading

Who is Maurizio Cattelan? Maurizio Cattelan is an Italian artist born in 1960 in Padua, Italy. His career in sculpting and art began way back in the 1980s through the making of wooden furniture. This was in his home country, but soon he mainly immersed himself in creating controversial sculptures whenever he could. Some have …

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How did Banksy’s Girl with Balloon end up in a shredder?

Murals, Paintings, Street Art / 10 minutes of reading

Who is Banksy? Banksy, according to some sources, was born in 1974 in Bristol, United Kingdom. He is one of the world’s most secretive artists. Most of his fans don’t know how he looks likes. Over the years, Banksy has won over many hearts with his humorous and thought-provoking stencil works, which would appear in …

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Why was Tracey Emin’s bed a shock to the audience?

Installations / 4 minutes of reading

Tracey Emin’s work has always been shrouded in revelation and discovery, where she uses her real-life events as the inspiration for her works. So far, her art has become varied to include video installations, paintings, drawings, neon sculptures, photography, and even needlework. Emin’s work is characterized by an imminence and frequently sexually challenging boldness …

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Richard Serra - House of Cards, 1969_1978. Lead antimony. Fisher Collection. SFMOMA, 2016 feat

Richard Serra’s One Ton Prop (House of Cards) – The summation of his work

Sculptures / 3 minutes of reading

Richard Serra has undeniably consolidated his career in contemporary art through his many controversial works including his now well known installation One Top Prop. Most Richard Serra exhibitions have elicited debates and discussions. In some cases, visitors have even sustained injuries, and there have even been some incidences of death recorded. This sculpture killed …

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Andy-Warhol-Thirteen-Most-Wanted-Men-No.-11-John-Joseph-H.-Jr.-1964-Photo-Axel-Schneider-feat

Andy Warhol’s scandalous 13 Most Wanted Men: Destroyed within days

Installations, Murals, Paintings, Photography / 3 minutes of reading

Andy Warhol commissioned to create his first and only public art piece Pop provocateur Andy Warhol was never a stranger to controversy. In 1964, as part of a series of commissions for the New York State Pavilion, Warhol was commissioned to work on an installation displayed on the face of the pavilion, which was to …

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Sun-Yuan-and-Peng-Yu-Dogs-Which-Cannot-Touch-Each-Other-2003-feat

Banned: Sun Yuan & Peng Yu’s controversial dog video

Performances, Video Art / 3 minutes of reading

The video work titled Dogs That Cannot Touch Each Other has only recently been removed from Guggenheim Museum’s exhibition series known as Art and China after 1989: Theater of the World. The video series has been met with disapproval and disparagement not only by some art critics but animal lovers and welfare organizations as …

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What made Richard Serra’s Tilted Arc sculpture so controversial?

Sculptures / 3 minutes of reading

Embed from Getty Images Who is Richard Serra? Richard Serra is a leading sculptor who is known for creating minimalist artwork. While he began his career after studying fine arts at Yale University, he created the sculpture Tilted Arc in 1981 in New York after celebrating his fortieth birthday. By this time, he was already …

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Jeff Koons controversial sculpture of Michael Jackson & bubbles

Sculptures / 6 minutes of reading

Michael Jackson and Bubbles is a larger-than-life-sized gilded porcelain rendering of the late king of pop, Michael Jackson, and his chimpanzee pet, Bubbles. It’s based on a press photo of the two, and it is nearly indistinguishable from that image. Just like in the vacuum cleaner series, Jeff Koons reimagines the pop star as …

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