Vancouver Destroys Anti-Olympic Artwork
The city of Vancouver is following in the footsteps of China, censoring artwork in the run-up to the Olympics. A storefront painting critiquing the upcoming games was ordered removed by the city, citing graffiti bylaws according to The Globe and Mail.
This is the first time in a decade of displaying artwork outdoors that the gallery has been asked to remove anything, bolstering the obvious conclusion that the piece, showing four out of five unsmiling faces inside a set of black Olympic rings, was only targeted for its content. The original piece by Jesse Corcoran has now been restored in all its anti-Olympic glory, and city officials have promised not to censor other similar expressions against the February games.
Photo by The Blackbird
by Will Sherman on December 14, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Editor-in-Chief:
You went too far in reporting the piece of art was “destroyed.” It was ordered removed and, after considerable outcry from local civil libertarians, the artwork was recently restored to its place on the gallery’s facade: http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackbird_hollow/4182309042/
Please ask if you would like to use my photos in future. They are marked “all rights reserved.”
Looks like you’ve edited it. Thanks.
The title still needs to be changed, though. The artwork was never destroyed. It is back in place.
Hmm… didn’t edit anything so any changes must be imagined.
It doesn’t matter that city officials didn’t jumpkick the artwork into pieces and set it on fire. They still destroyed the mural, clearly a public protest, by making the gallery take it down.
Dude (Sherman), show some respect or you’ll just be another person censoring and altering a message.