Bristol’s BLM Statue Divides Art World.
Music by: CjOnTheBeat – Alone.
It’s CULTED with your 60-second ART BLAST.
We all saw the Black Lives Matter statue that was erected in Bristol after BLM protestors tore down the previous statue of slave trader Edward Colston in June, but instead of being praised, the new statue, which has now been removed, has divided the art world. Although on the surface it seemed like a great replacement for the inherently racist statue, the new BLM model had its issues.
Curator Lee Cavaliere explained it was created “by an institutional rich white guy, who has made millions from presenting female bodies for other rich men to look at”. He went on to explain that it was also created and erected by an all white team.
Sculptor Thomas J Price agrees with Lee, branding it as a “votive statue to appropriation”. Price told The Guardian “it feels like an opportunistic stunt, I think it would be far more useful if white artists confronted ‘whiteness’ as opposed to using the lack of black representation in art to find relevance for themselves.”
As this has divided the art world, we want to hear from you. Do you think the statue was a great act of allyship, or just white performatism?
Let us know below.
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