How’s This for Poignant Social Commentary?
Considering how feeble most public art is, this rather arresting piece by Italian sculptor Maurizio Cattelan deserves some serious props, especially in light of its location -- within spitting distance of the Milan stock exchange.
Considering how feeble most public art is, this rather arresting piece by Italian sculptor Maurizio Cattelan deserves some serious props, especially in light of its location — within spitting distance of the Milan stock exchange. Cattelan himself may deny any significant link between the sculpture, officially dubbed L.O.V.E., and its current placement, but the meaning of an artwork isn’t solely determined by the artist, now is it? –KA
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Cattelan’s latest creation is a huge hand, beautifully sculpted from Carrara marble — the same material used by Michelangelo and Bernini.
But its middle finger is extended skywards in a very un-Renaissance-like gesture of contempt. That — given its position here just a stone’s throw from the stock exchange — has invited discussion of a possible anti-capitalist message, though the artist himself has denied any such intention.
Canvassing opinion among visitors to Milan, many feel the sculpture deserves a permanent place in the city that’s also home to Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper.
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