ZHOU TIEHAI

NY Times (Subject is US, Object is Art, by Grace Glueck, 3 Jul 2003)
... But the show's tone is set by an ironic portrait of New York City's 9/11 hero and former mayor, Rudolph W. Giuliani. Done by a Chinese artist, Zhou Tiehai, it is titled "Libertas, Dei Te Serventi" (2002). Mr. Zhou uses the glowing Soviet Social Realist style that glorified leaders like Lenin and Stalin.

Beneath his portrait the artist has painted two balls of elephant dung, a comment on Mr. Giuliani's attempts in 1999 to suppress a show at the Brooklyn Museum in which the artist Chris Ofili attached worshipful offerings of elephant dung to a painting of a black Madonna....

(in http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/04/arts/design/04GLUE.html?ex=1057896000&en=3594337d2ea40062&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE )

Washington Times (Inside Politics by Greg Pierce, July 3. 2003)
.... 
Art critic?
    An art dispute has come back to haunt former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who is the subject of a new portrait showing him posing with two balls of elephant dung.
    The work by Shanghai-born artist Zhou Tiehai, which features a lofty image of Mr. Giuliani against a backdrop of the New York skyline and flanked by the elephant droppings, is included in a show that opened yesterday at the Whitney Museum in Manhattan.
    The exhibition is called "The American Effect" and features different takes on the United States by a variety of foreign artists.
    Mr. Zhou's portrait of the man who became known as "America's mayor" in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks refers to a public row Mr. Giuliani had with the Brooklyn Museum of Art in 1999 when he was in office.
    Mr. Giuliani had slammed an exhibit at the museum titled "Sensation" that featured a portrait of the Virgin Mary smeared with elephant dung and decorated with pornographic clippings, demanding that the publicly funded museum cancel the exhibit. He then embarked on what proved to be a futile attempt to have the museum ousted from the city-owned building it has occupied since the 19th century.
    Asked to respond to Mr. Zhou's portrait, Mr. Giuliani insisted yesterday that he was unqualified to comment.
    "I really am not an art critic," he told reporters after a meeting with Secretary of State Colin L. Powell in Washington.
    "If it was an opera, I would be able to comment on it, but works of art I am not an expert on," Mr. Giuliani said. "And I haven't seen it, so I don't know what it is." ...
 (in  http://washingtontimes.com/national/20030703-114702-3555r.htm ) 
 
scoop (Powell With The Giuliani, Foxman and Rep.Smith):
...
SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you. A question or two?
QUESTION: A question for Mayor Giuliani.
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary -- do you want to ask about this subject?
QUESTION: Yes. Mayor Giuliani, you said moments ago that anti-Semitism is rising in some European countries. Can you explain why you think this is?
And secondly, there is a new artwork at the Whitney Museum, on a different note -- wanted to get your comments on that -- lampooning you, apparently.

MR. GIULIANI: Well, I'm really not an art critic. If it was an opera, I'd be able to comment on it. But works of art I'm not -- I'm not an expert on. And I haven't seen it so I don't know what it is...(http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0307/S00041.htm )

Report: Exhibit Features Giuliani Portrait With Elephant Dung
    
(New York-WABC, July 3, 2003) - Controversy is brewing over an art exhibit featuring a picture of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and its not likely the former mayor will find this portrait flattering.


 See Photos From The Story

The portrait is called "Liberty: May The Gods Protect You," and it shows Giuliani standing next to two lumps of elephant dung.

In New York City, it is very likely this portrait of the former mayor will spark a quick reaction from the art world and Rudy Giuliani himself. It shows Giuliani proudly looking over the city he once ran and the painting is flanked by two lumps of elephant dung. It was created by artist Zhou-Tiehai from Shanghai and is part of an exhibit called "The American Effect."

Any artist might tell you that the dung is an abstract message that can be intrepreted in many ways. But arguably, it's a clear reference to Giuliani's outrage over this painting that created a huge controversy when it opened at the Brooklyn art museum five years ago.

It was a collage of the Holy Virgin Mary covered in elephant dung, just one of the many shocking works included in the exhibit "Sensation." At the time, an outraged Giuliani called the exhibit sick and threatened to cut city funding to the Brooklyn Art Museum unless it cancelled the exhibit.

But it turned out to be one of the largest openings in the history of the Brooklyn museum with nearly 10,000 people attended the opening.

The portrait will be displayed in the American hero section at the Whitney Museum. Doors will open at 11:00 a.m. this morning.  http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/news/WABC_070302_giulianipic.html



In other works, the humor is more oblique. "Libertas, Dei Te Serventi!" - which loosely translates "Long Live Liberty!" - is a magnificent portrait of former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani, based on Time magazine's 2001 Person of the Year cover. But notice that on the bottom of this scroll, artist Zhou Tiehai of Shanghai, China has painted two little wheels of elephant dung, a reference to the dung-decorated Madonna in the Brooklyn Museum of Art's 1999 "Sensation" show that drew Giuliani's ire. (Wonder what he'll think of this.)

The scroll style refers to ancient China, while Giuliani's noble gaze against a gauzy backdrop smacks of the designs for Communist Chinese propaganda. Often when you create a work about another culture, you end up saying more about your own, http://www.nyjournalnews.com/newsroom/070403/e0104whitney.html


-----
Giuliani's nose rubbed in '99 art controversy

Four years ago, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani blasted the Brooklyn Museum of Art for hanging a painting of the Virgin Mary that was decorated with elephant dung.
An exhibit that opened at the Whitney this week strikes back, with a portrait of Giuliani that has elephant dung painted on it.

"Libertas, De Te Servent!" (Liberty, May the Gods Protect You!), by Chinese artist Zhou Tiehai, is part of an exhibition about America's global image at the Whitney Museum of American Art through Oct. 12.

The wall text draws parallels between Giuliani's stance and that of Communist leaders and says the dung is meant as a reference to the 1999 controversy over Chris Ofili's work "Holy Virgin Mary." Giuliani tried to pull public funding from the Brooklyn museum after it featured the work.

Asked about the painting, Giuliani said: "Well, I'm really not an art critic. If it was an opera, I'd be able to comment on it."

(in http://www.charleston.net/stories/070503/wor_05people.shtml


In other works, the humor is more oblique. "Libertas, Dei Te Serventi!" - which loosely translates "Long Live Liberty!" - is a magnificent portrait of former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani, based on Time magazine's 2001 Person of the Year cover. But notice that on the bottom of this scroll, artist Zhou Tiehai of Shanghai, China has painted two little wheels of elephant dung, a reference to the dung-decorated Madonna in the Brooklyn Museum of Art's 1999 "Sensation" show that drew Giuliani's ire. (Wonder what he'll think of this.)
(in http://www.nyjournalnews.com/newsroom/070403/e0104whitney.html )

Artwork strikes at Giuliani

Four years ago, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani blasted the Brooklyn Museum of Art for hanging a painting of the Virgin Mary that was decorated with elephant dung.

An exhibit that opened at the Whitney this week strikes back - with a portrait of Giuliani that has elephant dung painted on it.

Libertas, De Te Servent! (Liberty, May the Gods Protect You!), by Chinese artist Zhou Tiehai, is part of an exhibition about America's global image at the Whitney Museum of American Art through Oct. 12.

The wall text draws parallels between Giuliani's stance and that of Communist leaders and says the dung is a reference to the 1999 controversy over Chris Ofili's work, Holy Virgin Mary. Giuliani tried to pull public funding from the Brooklyn museum after it featured the work.

(in http://www.sptimes.com/2003/07/05/Artsandentertainment/Twisted_Sister_more_w.shtml)



"Libertas, De Te Servent!' (Liberty, May the Gods Protect You!), by Chinese artist Zhou Tiehai , is part of an exhibition about America's global image at the Whitney Museum of American Art through Oct. 12.

The wall text draws parallels between Giuliani's stance and that of Communist leaders and says the dung is meant as a reference to the 1999 controversy about Chris Ofili 's work, "Holy Virgin Mary.' Giuliani tried to pull public funding from the Brooklyn museum after it featured the work.

Asked about the painting, Giuliani said: "Well, I'm really not an art critic. If it was an opera I'd be able to comment on it. But works of art, I'm not an expert on, and I haven't seen it, so I don't know what it is.'

http://www.presstelegram.com/Stories/0,1413,204~21474~1495084,00.html

NEW YORK (AP) -- Four years ago, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani blasted the Brooklyn Museum of Art for hanging a painting of the Virgin Mary that was decorated with elephant dung.

An exhibit that opened at the Whitney this week strikes back -- with a portrait of Giuliani that has elephant dung painted on it.

"Libertas, De Te Servent!'' (Liberty, May the Gods Protect You!), by Chinese artist Zhou Tiehai, is part of an exhibition about America's global image at the Whitney Museum of American Art through Oct. 12.

The wall text draws parallels between Giuliani's stance and that of Communist leaders and says the dung is meant as a reference to the 1999 controversy over Chris Ofili's work, "Holy Virgin Mary.'' Giuliani tried to pull public funding from the Brooklyn museum after it featured the work.

Asked about the painting, Giuliani said: "Well, I'm really not an art critic. If it was an opera I'd be able to comment on it. But works of art, I'm not an expert on, and I haven't seen it so I don't know what it is.''

( http://wvgazette.com/section/APNews/News/ap0611n )

 

NEW YORK - The Whitney Museum of American Art is stepping bravely into a potential mine field, opening a new exhibition on the eve of the U.S. Fourth of July holiday that contains a painting tweaking the heroic image of Rudy Giuliani and other art that risks being called anti-American.
The Giuliani portrait by Chinese artist Zhou Tiehai, which is featured in The American Effect, depicts the former mayor of New York against a sunset skyline of the city, in the Socialist Realism tradition normally associated with Communist leaders such as Mao, Lenin, and Stalin. In Libertas, dei te Servent!, the artist has painted two clumps of elephant dung beneath the image, a reference to the British artist Chris Ofili's dung-adorned painting of the Virgin Mary that outraged Giuliani in October, 1999, so much that he attempted to close down the Sensation exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

Giuliani tried to evict the museum from the city-owned building and initiated a decency panel that would oversee all city funding for the arts. The panel never got beyond the planning stage and was quietly shuttered when the more liberally minded Michael Bloomberg became mayor in January, 2002.

The Whitney is a private museum that received only $4,500 (U.S.) from the city for its educational fund last year.

( NEW YORK - The Whitney Museum of American Art is stepping bravely into a potential mine field, opening a new exhibition on the eve of the U.S. Fourth of July holiday that contains a painting tweaking the heroic image of Rudy Giuliani and other art that risks being called anti-American.
 

The Giuliani portrait by Chinese artist Zhou Tiehai, which is featured in The American Effect, depicts the former mayor of New York against a sunset skyline of the city, in the Socialist Realism tradition normally associated with Communist leaders such as Mao, Lenin, and Stalin. In Libertas, dei te Servent!, the artist has painted two clumps of elephant dung beneath the image, a reference to the British artist Chris Ofili's dung-adorned painting of the Virgin Mary that outraged Giuliani in October, 1999, so much that he attempted to close down the Sensation exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

Giuliani tried to evict the museum from the city-owned building and initiated a decency panel that would oversee all city funding for the arts. The panel never got beyond the planning stage and was quietly shuttered when the more liberally minded Michael Bloomberg became mayor in January, 2002.

The Whitney is a private museum that received only $4,500 (U.S.) from the city for its educational fund last year.

(in http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030704.rvwhit/BNStory/Front/  )

..That American imagery insinuates itself into the imagination of the world is nothing new. Along with undisputed U.S. military power, massive commercial exports of American culture have given the United States hegemonic influence over the viewing and listening habits of young people the world over. The effect is readily discernible in the works on view at the Whitney. In an image painted by Pakistani artist Saira Wasim in the manner of a 15th century Mughal miniature, Ronald McDonald, the Statue of Liberty and Rudolph W. Giuliani appear alongside sad-faced Islamic mullahs watching President Bush embracing Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in celebration of their alliance against terrorism.
(in http://www.calendarlive.com/galleriesandmuseums/cl-et-wise5jul05,0,2483701.story?coll=cl-home-more-channels )
 

      Rudy mum on art - cat got his dung? 

    
      By SONI SANGHA and CELESTE KATZ DAILY NEWS WRITERS
    
      A new exhibit featuring a portrait of Rudy Giuliani and two blobs of elephant dung drew mixed reviews yesterday, but the ex-mayor sidestepped the topic.
      "Well, I'm really not an art critic. If it was an opera, I'd be able to comment on it, but works of art, I'm not an expert on," Giuliani said when asked about the work during a Virginia news conference on anti-Semitism. "And I haven't seen it, so I don't know what it is."

      In a clear reference to Giuliani's 1999 attack on a dung-decorated portrait of the Virgin Mary at the Brooklyn Museum of Art as "sick," the portrait in the new Whitney Museum exhibit shows Giuliani smiling beatifically - with two chunks of dung resting at the sides of the canvas.

      "If I was Rudy, I'd just be glad someone painted my picture, but the dung and censorship, that's just part of what Rudy was," said retired software engineer Paul Grayhek, 56, of Manhattan after viewing the Whitney exhibit, "The American Effect," which features foreign artists' interpretations of the United States.

      Some noted that Shanghai-born artist Zhou Tiehai's painting shows Giuliani in the socialist realism style, a genre that often portrayed repressive Communist figures such as Lenin, Stalin and Mao as larger-than-life heroes.

      "I found the idea of it offensive. The artist made him look like a Communist leader," said Florida tourist Laura Richter, 52.

      Howard Jones, a 37-year-old Manhattan artist, is not a fan of Giuliani, and gave the exhibit high marks.

      "I thought it was great," he said. "I thought it was interesting we made such a hero out of [Giuliani]."

      Others were simply indifferent.

      "It was kind of ugly," shrugged art student Gina Levay, 24. "It wasn't at all powerful. Nothing at all drew me to it."

      Mayor Bloomberg, a longtime benefactor of the arts whose company contributes to the museum, declined to comment.  http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/98047p-88641c.html