Damien Katz

to my oppinion ... really bad taste !

Really bad taste?? What are you finding bad taste in? Maybe it's the obesity of the figures in the paintings. Should they be thinner people? That shame should not be their's, it's really yours (ours). Were you surprised when the LA Riots in the early 90s happened? It must have been the loud angry rap music behind it all. We should all just forget about that little Abu Ghraib incident, and move on, just look at all the problems it causes.

You got all that from a six word sentence?
Isn't that a little presumptuous?

I read on the link about the reason that the artist did it: to bring more attention to the most shameful event (i.e., not to mock their suffering). Ok, eknori might have assumed the paintings to be mocking the victims; after all, the artist gives a very cartoony look, so now I can imagine why eknori or others might think this way. Especially linked from Damien's blog, where mockery in general is fairly common. In fact I wouldn't have been sure myself if I hadn't read up on it. The point of the paintings is to get us/the audience to think about whose shame it _really_ is, in actual fact (it's not the prisoners'). We might be disgusted by the imagery, but at least we become aware of it, and hopefully remember such feeling of disgust when sentencing the Nazi/Gestapo evildoers that tortured those prisoners. To "never forget" is the point. Anyone that would not be horrified by what happened at Abu Ghraib is just another targeted, giggling bear in the Gary Larson cartoon. Maybe I'm presumptuous, maybe when eknori said "TO my opinion", it wasn't a typo. I just wanted to be sure because I don't think the umbrellas cause the rain, you know? Thank goodness for the original photos, the media, and this artist. I thank Damien for posting it, so I learned about it; the more exposure, the better. The more content on this topic TO our opinions, the better.

I posted the links because I found them interesting. I like Botero's work, defiantly unconventional, it challenges our sense of asthetic. I would hang many Botero works in my house, but not these.

But then these aren't meant to be displayed in a living room. These pieces are meant to evoke emotions and thoughts we don't want to feel. If you look at these pictures and think unpleasant things, then it has accomplished it's goal. If you look at the works and just think, "well, that's ugly, where are the pretty pictures?", you have missed the point.

I agree, I think the art is brilliant.

However, to accuse eknori of being insensitive is to bully one who does not “tow the line” and to ostracize him. This divisive mentality is pervasive in the States these days and is disgraceful. The fact that a six-word comment incites such a diatribe concerns me. It speaks volumes about our "join or die" mentality in the States. Be part of the herd, whichever herd you belong to, or be “cast out”. This saddens me. Apparently, Americans are too dim to allow more than two points of view. These days there is no respect for those who have an opposing opinion. By the way, eknori made a statement about art, which is inherently subjective, and for that, he was bullied. That is disturbing.
David, you ascribed an entire set of values on eknori based on his short statement, then argued against a whole series of statements he never made. This is a “Straw Man” argument and is invalid, but sadly common.

Ok well actually, speaking strictly ART art-wise, I have to say I am not too impressed with the TECHNICAL art skills of this Botero guy. I wouldn't hang any of his other paintings in my house based on his technical merit. In fact, Botero basically exploited his own reputation for being a fancy-pants famous "arteeeste" just to make a political statement. He milked his own brand name to push a personal agenda. If I, eknori or you had made these paintings, no one would care because we're not famous artists, and people would more readily see that we just copied, more or less, from the photos straight from the media... and art is supposed to be at least somewhat original, after all. Straw man attacks from me, about a rather straw artist?

I don't mean to ostracize eknori, so much as make sure he understands where the shame ultimately, truly lies- and if I can't even clarify that then the painting "failed" didn't it? It might not be obvious at first, but I don't think this point is very subjective actually; "towing the line" in this case means having respect for human dignity. Eknori shouldn't be cast out- he should be in this line that is towed. Was Eknori's comment a purely technical skills-only opinion? That really isn't the point of the paintings. In this context, it's not eknori's opinion of the technical art skills that matters so much, but Botero's opinion of the prisoner abuse- and stimulating this diatribe. You might be concerned about the diatribe, but in the US Americans should be able to enjoy freedom of speech.

And belive me, Americans aren't much worse than anyone else, deep down. There are a lot of super-sized, fat assed Americans though, who got that way by indulging themselves, but Botero was painting people that way before anyways.