When
a copy of Michelangelo’s David was
recently unveiled in a park in the Japanese city of Okuizumo, the Renaissance
masterwork sparked criticism from residents. Some want to cover up the statue’s
intimate parts, arguing it ‘frightens children.’ The copy, which stands five
metres tall, needs a pair of pants, they are urging officials, a suggestion the
city is now considering.
The
copy of David was donated to Okuizumo
by a wealthy Japanese businessman, along with a copy of the ‘topless’ Greek
treasure, Venus de Milo.
Last
summer, both were placed in a public park that features a running track,
baseball field, tennis court, mountain bike circuit and play area for children.
‘Some people
have told the town’s legislators that kids are afraid of the statues because
they are so big and had appeared unexpectedly over the summer,’ town official
Yoji Morinaga told news agency Agence France-Presse.
‘They are
statues of unclothed humans, and such pieces of artwork, are very rare in our
area. Some people apparently said the statues might not be good for their
children,’ Morinaga added.
MORE MICHELANGELO
The
great Renaissance artist continues to make headlines. The decision to move one
of Michelangelo’s masterworks, the Rondanini
Pietà, to a new and unusual home, if only temporarily, has sparked some
controversy. While renovations are underway at Milan’s Castello Sforzesco,
where the unfinished statue will be have a new, dedicated space in 2014, local
officials have decided to move it to the city jail, the San Vittore prison.
Milan’s councilor for culture, Stefano Boeri, is proud of the idea to place the
exceptional statue in ‘a place of pain,’ like a prison, hoping it may spark a
period of reflection on the conditions of prisons in Italy as well as serve as
a source of rehabilitation for inmates. Art historians argue that works so
precious should never be moved, let alone to a jail, where optimal climatic
conditions cannot be assured and where they cannot be opened to the public.
