Controversial Indian Painter is Subject of New Documentary

HINDUSTAN TIMES
By Priyanka Jain

BOLLYWOOD - Ketan Mehta’s ambitious project Rang Rasiya has been in the cans for almost a year and a half. However, after receiving accolades at the London Indian Film Festival, the biopic based on controversial painter Raja Ravi Varma, will be finally be released this September. Ketan says, “The film charts Raja Ravi Varma’s life, from his early days under the patronage of a king in Kerala to his time in British Bombay in the late 1800s, where he makes his fortune. Here, he gives birth to Indian modern art and helps inspire the freedom movement and Indian cinema with his depictions, which bring to life Hindu Gods and Goddesses.” [link]

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Govt Consider's Rating System for Artworks in Galleries

THE ADVERTISER | HERALD SUN

"Only woman bleed" (2008) By Adam Cullen

AUSTRALIA - The visual arts industry is appalled by a proposal to apply a classification scheme to artworks exhibited in galleries across the nation. In 2008, the inclusion of [Adam] Cullen's "Only Woman Bleed" in the Blake Prize for Religious Art prompted one judging panel member to quit and another label his work "really offensive". Throughout his career Cullen, who in 2000 won the Archibald Prize for his portrait of actor David Wenham, has courted controversy with his works having been described as "crude" and "puerile" by detractors. The 200-page report, released late last week by the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee, says the defence of "artistic merit" is not enough to allow some controversial works of art to be exhibited, particularly when it comes to those that depict children. [link]

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Evangelical Church Unveils Gift Painting from Controversial Artist

THE DENVER POST
By Tom Hacker

Pastor Wiggins unveiling the artwork

COLORADO - Enrique Chagoya, the artist whose work touched off days of protests and an act of vandalism in Loveland last fall, had his moment of redemption Saturday night. It came after his portrait of Jesus Christ, a monumental 5-by-7-foot painting, was unveiled at Resurrection Fellowship, a 3,000-member evangelical congregation on Crossroads Boulevard in east Loveland. The improbable link between Chagoya, whose work "The Misadventures of the Romantic Cannibals" set off the storm of controversy, and Resurrection senior pastor Jonathan Wiggins was consummated with the rollout of the artist's portrait, a gift to the church. [link]

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Common Sense Should Guide Decision on Surfing Madonna

SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
By Editorial Board

CALIFORNIA - This controversy calls for common sense. The public gets it, even if public officeholders do not. Despite the Madonna image [Surfing Madonna], this artwork is not religious symbolism inappropriate for public property. Its message is what it says it is: “Save the ocean.” Frankly, that ought to be Encinitas’ official motto. This is public art, not graffiti. If the council cannot distinguish, we suggest a train ride to view some real graffiti. If a lack of paperwork is the issue, ask Patterson to file an after-the-fact application; then approve it. [link]

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Punk Band Returns Govt Backed Loan Amid Controversy

CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

CANADA - Vancouver punk band Living with Lions will return a loan from music agency FACTOR and withdraw its current album that sparked controversy with its artwork. The band and its label, Black Box, announced on Tuesday that they would voluntarily return a $13,248 loan from the Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings (FACTOR) to produce its latest album. FACTOR supports the domestic music industry by distributing funding from Canadian Heritage and radio broadcasters. The band's latest album, entitled Holy Shit: The Poo Testament and released on May 17, features album artwork that emulates the look of a faded Bible and portrays Jesus as excrement. [link]

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