{"id":764130,"date":"2021-06-27T07:27:10","date_gmt":"2021-06-27T11:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=764130"},"modified":"2021-06-27T08:31:36","modified_gmt":"2021-06-27T12:31:36","slug":"sono-perverso-quelli-romani-spqr-roast-pig-statue-in-rome-draws-animal-rights-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=764130","title":{"rendered":"SONO PERVERSE QUELLI ROMANI (SPQR): Roast pig statue in Rome draws animal rights protests"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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Protesters attached posters to the statue that read 'Animals ARE NOT sandwiches' and 'Your TRADITIONS, their SUFFERING' brandished banners with slogans like 'Animals are our brothers'.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\n

ELISABETTA PROVOLEDO:<\/strong> A sculpture of a roasted pig, a new public artwork installation paying tribute to the Italian capital, was removed on Friday after the statue was vandalized with cherry-red paint… The new artworks in eight of central Rome\u2019s public squares are meant to be playful celebrations of the city\u2019s rich culture and history. But some very vocal people do not see the whimsy in a dead pig.<\/p>\n

The installations, unveiled last week, include an oversize rendering of Rome\u2019s ubiquitous drinking fountains and a giant wooden doorstop, acclaiming Rome as an open city. And then there is the statue of a boneless roasted pig, a regional delicacy known as porchetta, denounced by outraged animal rights activists as a celebration of cruelty.<\/p>\n

On Friday, the statue was removed only hours after it had been vandalized with cherry-red paint, which had been liberally dripped over the pig\u2019s head and back. \u201cUnfortunately, it came to this,\u201d said Amedeo Longo, 24, the artist who created the work. \u201cMy heart is heavy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The artist looked on forlornly as city workers trussed the two-ton sculpture \u2014 titled \u201cFrom the Sandwich to the Square\u201d \u2014 which had been installed exactly a week ago on Piazza San Giovanni della Malva, in the trendy Trastevere neighborhood. It was hoisted by a crane onto a truck and driven to a municipal deposit.<\/p>\n

The vandalism follows other protests this week, when shouting demonstrators picketed the work. They attached posters to its pedestal that read \u201cAnimals ARE NOT sandwiches\u201d and \u201cYour TRADITIONS, their SUFFERING\u201d; brandished banners with slogans like \u201cAnimals are our brothers\u201d; and demanded that the city take the statue away.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see nothing artistic in the death of an animal, put on exhibit,\u201d said Rita Corboli, the Rome representative of the Italian branch of the International Organization for Animal Protection. \u201cWe absolutely want it to be removed”… As the statue was driven away Friday, one passer-by called out, \u201cGreat decision,\u201d which prompted a very lively debate (argument) among those present in the square…<\/p>\n

Even porchetta-loving Roman citizens, of whom there are many, gave voice to their inner art critics. Insults swelled the Facebook pages of the municipal ward and that of its president, Sabrina Alfonsi, who removed a photograph of the pig from her page (though the statue now has its own social media presence)… She said the work was being removed so it could be restored. Its fate would be known \u201cin a few days,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Mr. Longo said he was genuinely surprised by the response. He had just wanted to depict something quintessentially Italian. His sculpture, made of Roman travertine marble, which has been used since ancient times, \u201cwas misunderstood,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cNo animal was killed to make this sculpture”…<\/p>\n

If nothing else, the statue has stimulated public debate, which is what contemporary art should do, said Giulia Urso, the ward councilor who oversaw the project. It has people arguing not only about public art, but also about the need to shift society \u201ctoward a more vegetarian and animal rights point of view,\u201d she said…<\/p>\n

Emiliano Coletta, an artist and visual arts professor at the university, said that he and Mr. Longo had gone to meet with the animal rights protesters, to have \u201ca civil dialogue”… Mr. Longo said he was happy to have gotten the opportunity to show his work in public and that criticism was part of the game. \u201cThere are going to be people who like it and others who don\u2019t,\u201d he said. SOURCE…<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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