112 pages with 86 color illustrations, published by Prestel (date published not indicated)
essay by David Ebony
Colombian artist Fernando Botero's works first caught my eye when, as a college student, I frequented forums on literature and history. What made his works appealing is his portrayal of men and women as curvaceous, a signature style that is now known as Boterismo. His style reminds me a lot of the Venus figurines, works of art showing round breasts and round bellies. Sure renaissance and baroque art were also replete with plump subjects whose nakedness display curves, but Botero's is much exaggerated because the subjects are rounder in shape and well, just voluminous, in vibrant colors. Definitely eye-catching!
So one day in 2012 while inside Booksale, I happened to see a book about Botero's works portraying the torture of Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison when the US invaded Iraq under the pretext of liberating the country from Saddam Hussein's hands. I was hesitant to buy the book because one, the book is expensive at P320 (by a cheapskate's standards), two, I am already having storage problems, and three, anytime I need artistic inspiration I can just search the net anyway. In the end, Ebony's essay won me over since it gives a clear understanding of what Botero's works are all about, as a whole and more so, about the horrors of Abu Ghraib.
In his Abu Ghraib art series, Botero's sketches and paintings depict naked men in cells, blindfolded, in sexual acts with other men, in female underwear, and combinations of these. An insight into this portrayal, Ebony writes:
Also disturbing are the images of dogs attacking the prisoners. Straightforward and direct to the point, Botero's art certainly is clearly a statement against US policies, a protest against violence, and a "call for humanity in the face of man's inhumanity to man" (as Ebony aptly penned it).
In an interview with the Associated Press, Botero said he was "shocked by the barbarity, especially because the United States is supposed to be this model of compassion" (in Ebony, p. 13).
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When art goes beyond aesthetics to tackle social problems we face today, it becomes even more relevant as it gives voice to the oppressed, making the world know of their sufferings in the hope that we, as human beings, denounce all forms of violence.
Due to the graphic nature of his works, I am not inserting any image from the Abu Ghraib series in this post.
essay by David Ebony
Colombian artist Fernando Botero's works first caught my eye when, as a college student, I frequented forums on literature and history. What made his works appealing is his portrayal of men and women as curvaceous, a signature style that is now known as Boterismo. His style reminds me a lot of the Venus figurines, works of art showing round breasts and round bellies. Sure renaissance and baroque art were also replete with plump subjects whose nakedness display curves, but Botero's is much exaggerated because the subjects are rounder in shape and well, just voluminous, in vibrant colors. Definitely eye-catching!
So one day in 2012 while inside Booksale, I happened to see a book about Botero's works portraying the torture of Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison when the US invaded Iraq under the pretext of liberating the country from Saddam Hussein's hands. I was hesitant to buy the book because one, the book is expensive at P320 (by a cheapskate's standards), two, I am already having storage problems, and three, anytime I need artistic inspiration I can just search the net anyway. In the end, Ebony's essay won me over since it gives a clear understanding of what Botero's works are all about, as a whole and more so, about the horrors of Abu Ghraib.
In his Abu Ghraib art series, Botero's sketches and paintings depict naked men in cells, blindfolded, in sexual acts with other men, in female underwear, and combinations of these. An insight into this portrayal, Ebony writes:
"Exploiting Islam's ban on homosexual acts, and the perception that for Iraqi men it is humiliating to be naked in front of other men, the soldiers threatened the nude male detainees with rape and forced them to simulate sex acts with each other." (p.9)
In an interview with the Associated Press, Botero said he was "shocked by the barbarity, especially because the United States is supposed to be this model of compassion" (in Ebony, p. 13).
_______________________
When art goes beyond aesthetics to tackle social problems we face today, it becomes even more relevant as it gives voice to the oppressed, making the world know of their sufferings in the hope that we, as human beings, denounce all forms of violence.
Due to the graphic nature of his works, I am not inserting any image from the Abu Ghraib series in this post.
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