World Art Day to be celebrated April 15

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

The International Association of Arts has declared April 15, 2012 the first World Art Day, and the event will be celebrated worldwide.

At last year’s world general assembly meeting of the International Association of Arts (IAA) in Guadalajara, Mexico Turkey’s national committee president Bedri Baykam presented a proposal suggesting that Leonardo da Vinci’s birthday, April 15, be declared World Art Day. The proposition was co-signed and presented by Rosa Maria Burillo Velasco of Mexico, Anne Pourny of France, Liu Dawei of China, Christos Symeonides of Greek Cyprus, Anders Liden of Sweden, Kan Irie of Japan, Pavel Kral of Slovakia, Dev Chooramun of Mauritius, and Hilde Rognskog of Norway. It was voted on and unanimously accepted by the IAA’s General Assembly.

Given Leonardo’s multi-faceted personality as a painter, sculptor, thinker, writer, innovator, mathematician and philosopher, his birthday was seen as a perfect choice for a day to commemorate the role of art in the contemporary world, with its complex artistic, social and political layers.
All the national committees of the IAA will be contributing to World Art Day through festivities, exhibitions, panel discussions, posters, banners and parties, emphasizing the role of art in achieving peace and freedom. From Mexico to Japan, from France to Sweden, from Slovakia to South Africa, from Cyprus to Venezuela, countries on all continents are preparing to celebrate World Art Day in different ways.

Day for artists

The IAA designated April 15 as World Art Day with the intention that it will be a day for all artists and art lovers in the world to celebrate, not only members of IAA. The idea is to create a day to emphasize the importance of art in the lives of everyone, of all ages and races. Every gallery, museum, art center, university and artist are free to organize their own activities.

The President of IAA World, Mexican Rosa Maria Burillo Velasco said, “Art is the most genuine expression of the human soul, shaped in images words, sounds and movements enduring reflections that describe us the story of humanity. World Art Day will permit to all the artists and art lovers of the world, to feel the power and the preciousness of art simultaneously and let all of us breathe its importance for all nations of the World

AUDI e-bike worthersee

the AUDI e-bike wörthersee


at the wörthersee tour in austria, AUDI unveiled its 'wörthersee' performance electric bike for sports and trick cycling.
designed incorporating technology from AUDI cars, with testing and feedback from competitive cyclist julien dupont.
the bicycle also offers smartphone connectivity for the recording of stunts, and optional automatic stabilization
when performing wheelies and other tricks.

completely designed and manufactured at AUDI, the 'wörthersee' offers the highest output of any production electric model
at 2.3kW (a power-to-weight ratio of 9kg (19.8lb) per kilowatt). riders can use one of five travel programs, including the
human-powered only 'pure' mode; 'pedelec' mixed-use, with a top speed of 50 mph (80 km/hr) and range of 31-44 miles (50 - 70 km)
per charge; or 'eGrip' electric-only mode, with a top speed of 31mph (50km/hr). the e-bike's nine-speed, hydraulically actuated
gear shift is modeled after the quick response of the R-tronic transmission of AUDI R8s.

the lithium-ion battery pack of the 'wörthersee' is easily removable, charging completely in 2.5 hours.

continue reading for more about the production model of the e-bike, or see the concept sketches, early renders,
and design notes at designboom's exclusive feature, 'designing the AUDI e-bike wörthersee'.



full profile view


the frame of the bike is composed of lightweight carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) and weighs 3.53 pounds (1.6 kg);
the wheels feature 2-inch CFRP rims and blade-pattern spokes, the flat design of which increase the transmission of pedal power.
including the battery and motor, the bike weighs 46.3 pounds (21 kg).

LED lighting is integrated into the handlebar and seat. the seat's height can be adjusted through controls on the handlebar;
for example, for trick cycling, the bike's seat can be lowered to run flush with the frame, returnable to normal riding position
with the touch of a button. a multimode electronic control system also supports the rider when performing backwheeling,
wheelies, and other tricks.



julien dupont demos the production version of the AUDI e-bike wörthersee


an on-bike touchscreen computer interfaces with smartphone via WLAN, and video can be recorded via the in-helmet camera
and uploaded via the mobile device to the web. an online portal lets trick cyclists compete against one another, earning points
for successful tricks that have been videotaped and uploaded.



the AUDI pavilion at the wörthersee tour where the e-bike was debuted



trick cyclist julien dupont performs tricks with the 'wörthersee' on the rings of the AUDI logo at the wörthersee pavilion



via smartphone app or handlebar control, the bike can be set to automatically stabilize for the performing of wheelies and other tricks



additional view



3/4 rear view



3/4 top view



detail, handlebar controls



detail, nine-speed hydraulically actuated gear shift of the bike


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdShjFWgh9E&feature=player_embedded

take a behind-the-scenes look at the design of the bike in designboom's exclusive preview 'designing the AUDI e-bike wörthersee'.

Lee Sandstead's Dirty Little Secret

Art historian Lee Sandstead has a dirty little secret:  many of the paintings he had been taught to admire when a student, were disappointments when he saw them in person.  This is by no means a condemnation of the artists who painted the works, nor of Sandstead's teachers for lavishing praise upon these paintings.  It is just that whenever Sandstead encountered these pieces in museums, he noticed that the elements which had originally made the paintings special were missing or obscured.  The problem he found was that many artworks are in need of a good bath.

“This might sound rather incredible,” says Sandstead, “but most classic paintings in a museum need some kind of conservation, such as replacing the varnish. And even more incredible, in all of my art history classes that I have ever taken, no professor had ever mentioned this very basic—yet crucial—fact.”

Sandstead's quest to see paintings as they were "intended to be seen" began with Leonardo daVinci's La Giaconda (the Mona Lisa).  When he first saw it in its current state, he was . . . underwhelmed.  “I sat there looking at this very small and dark painting behind three inches of bullet-proof glass scratching my head in puzzlement. Where were her eyebrows? Why is she so yellow?”

He knew from the account of Giorgio Vasari, who described La Giaconda in 1547, that there was once something more to the painting:

In this head, whoever wished to see how closely art could imitate nature, was able to comprehend it with ease; for in it were counterfeited all the minutenesses that with subtlety are able to be painted, seeing that the eyes had that lustre and watery sheen which are always seen in life, and around them were all those rosy and pearly tints, as well as the lashes, which cannot be represented without the greatest subtlety. The eyebrows, through his having shown the manner in which the hairs spring from the flesh, here more close and here more scanty, and curve according to the pores of the skin, could not be more natural. The nose, with its beautiful nostrils, rosy and tender, appeared to be alive. The mouth, with its opening, and with its ends united by the red of the lips to the flesh-tints of the face, seemed, in truth, to be not colours but flesh. In the pit of the throat, if one gazed upon it intently, could be seen the beating of the pulse. And, indeed, it may be said that it was painted in such a manner as to make every valiant craftsman, be he who he may, tremble and lose heart.¹

What then was Sandstead missing?  Though he had not been taught the fact in school, he soon realized that for paintings, classical paintings, to be understood, several items were needed:  the removal of centuries of dirt and grime, the removal of yellowed and aged varnish, the addition of a new varnish to bring out the colors and increase the depth of the darks, and some good, controlled lighting in which to view the works.

As Sandstead says, ". . . before you can understand an artwork. . . (its) characters, symbols, messages, themes, etc., you first have to know what you are looking at."

Searching out works in museum's throughout the world, Sandstead, a talented a photographer in his own right, began taking pictures of paintings in need of cleaning, and correcting them digitally so he could appreciate the works as they were intended to be viewed.

Now, Sandstead, whose TV show on The Travel Channel, Art Attack with Lee Sandstead, revealed the man to be "the world's most fired-up art historian," is trying to educate the public about what they should be seeing, at least superficially, when they look at a painting.  Using new technology built upon Apple's iBook Author, Sandstead teamed up with app company Tapity to release a new, interactive book, Cleaning Mona Lisa, available today at the iTunes store.  In it, Sandstead describes his disappointment with certain works which were not being presented at their best in museums, and shows examples of how some works would look if they were restored and lighted properly.

His audience is not intended to be artists, but the general public– most artists should already know that many paintings in museums have been damaged by age.  As such, though, it is very encouraging.  Sandstead's presentation is clear and simple, and his energy has the chance to encourage more people into museums.  More importantly for contemporary realists, Sandstead has a sympathy for indirect painting methods, and is eager to educate his readers in the differences between classical and modernist technique, and why they should be appreciated differently.

Cleaning Mona Lisa is available for iBooks2 on the iPad.  It can be purchased on iTunes for $2.99.  For more information, visit Sanstead's website.




¹Vasari, Giorgio, "Life of Leonardo da Vinci", in Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, translated by Gaston DeC. De Vere, (London: Philip Lee Warner, 1912-1914).

courtesy:underpaintings/  innisart

gucci - biodegradable liquid wood sunglasses

prototype model of gucci sunglasses in liquid wood, 2012


after their 2011 debut of four sustainable eyewear models produced in collaboration with safilo group,
italian luxury brand gucci is continuing their commitment to the environment with the design of sunglasses
made from liquid wood - a biodegradable material which has never before been used in the eyewear sector -
and new eco-friendly packaging.

the initial prototype of the semi-matte black sunglasses with shaded grey glass lenses has been developed
into a set of frames which draw their formal elements from the stems of the bamboo plant. the hardware,
including the hinges and small metal rings that outline the bamboo joints, are all made from recycled metal,
paired with mineral glass lenses. liquid wood boasts a composition from bio-based materials:
wood fibre from sustainably managed forests and lignin from the paper manufacturing process and natural wax.
the eco-friendly material offers an alternative to plastic which is typically used in the production of eyewear.

the fashion house first began using 100 % recyclable packaging made from FSC (forest stewardship council)
certified paper in 2010 and will now extend this towards its eyewear collections. the new foldable cases will minimize stock space,
limiting both the weight and amount of shipments made, in turn reducing 60% of CO2 emissions. the design will bear the
mobius loop which is an internationally recognized symbol used to designate recyclable materials.



initial gucci eyewear produced from bio-based plastic, 2011 in flamed havana with green background

the 2011 models of gucci's eco-friendly eyewear are made from an acetate, which compared to traditional acetate used for optical frames,
contains a higher percentage of materials derived from natural origins. the bio-plastic has been created in two colors exclusively for gucci eyewear,
flamed havana with either a red background or a green background, recalling the fashion house's iconic green-red-green web.


alternative bio-plastic gucci frames, 2011

david beckham plays beethoven with soccer balls

in an ad for the samsung 'galaxy note', david beckham sounds out 'ode to joy' on a 15-foot wall by kicking soccer balls at specific drums


in a web-only ad for the galaxy note smartphone by samsung, soccer player david beckham plays beethoven's
'ode to joy' by kicking soccer balls against a 15-foot wall of differently sized and toned drums and gongs.

shot in under two hours, the ad was directed by creative agency cheil USA. in addition to highlighting the large screen size
and S-pen stylus functionality of samsung's galaxy note, it celebrates the upcoming olympic games of which samsung is sponsor,
as 'ode to joy' has been used in several opening ceremonies and olympic commercials of years past.



the 'galaxy note' ad



in the advertisment, the director uses a 'galaxy note' and S-pen to show beckham the 'strategy' for this play

blow job - gale-force wind portraits

blow job - gale-force wind portraits by tadao cern

'blow job' by tadao cern studio, 2012
all images courtesy the artist


tadas černiauskas of lithuanian photography studio tadao cern has created a new collection of wind-pushed portraits entitled 'blow job'. the lighthearted series pictures
various persons enduing gale-force winds funneled directly at their face. the close-range images were captured in a public photo shoot which took place during
the design week of černiauskas's native vilnius, lithuania as visitors to tado cern's studio were given the opportunity to participate in this air-blown series. the artist
says of the project, 'I wanted to do something very fun for myself and the visitors, just laugh and have a good time. I was surprised that there were so many laid-back
people who were not afraid to look funny! spacious studio was bursting at the seams and everyone was crying with laughter, laughing at themselves and at each other.
everyone (and there were more than one hundred!) who dared to stand up in front of my lens that evening will remember this photo shoot for a long time and have an
extraordinary shot in his album'.






























'blow job 2012' a call to models by tadao cern


via bored panda / behanced

Shiver me timbers, the 2012 D4G Winner is..

Shiver me timbers, the 2012 D4G Winner is....

Posted: 17 May 2012 10:04 AM PDT

After 114,000 submissions and millions of your votes, second grader Dylan Hoffman of Caledonia, Wisc. is this year’s U.S. Doodle 4 Google National Winner. His doodle “Pirate Times” will be featured on the U.S. Google homepage tomorrow, May 18.

Hoffman, who attends the Prairie School in Racine, Wisc., responded to this year’s theme “If I could travel in time I’d visit...” with a colorful depiction of his dream visit to an era filled with swashbucklers. There, he’d “sail a pirate ship looking for treasure, have a colorful pet parrot and enjoy beautiful sunsets from deserted islands.” With his win, Dylan has come into some treasure of his own: a $30,000 college scholarship, a Chromebook computer and a $50,000 technology grant for his school. As an added bonus, Dylan’s doodle will grace the front of a special edition of the Crayola 64-crayon box, available this fall.

After this year's record-breaking submissions, choosing the National Winner and the four National Finalists wasn’t an easy decision. In addition to selecting Dylan, millions of public votes also helped us determine the four National Finalists, each of which will receive a $5,000 college scholarship:

• Grades 4-5: Talia Mastalski, Grade 5, East Pike Elementary School, Indiana, Penn., for her doodle “Traveling to me.” Talia says, “When I think of Google, I think of a wormhole leading me to knowledge. If I could travel in time, I would visit a similar wormhole into the future to find out about ME.”
• Grades 6-7: Herman Wang, Grade 6, Suzanne Middle School, West Covina, Calif., for his doodle “Retro City.” Herman says, “If I could travel in time, I'd visit Retro City. A future city made of robots and humans.”
• Grades 8-9: Susan Olvera, Grade 8, SOAR Alternative School, Lafayette, In., for her doodle “Traveling Back to the Future.” Susan says, “If I could travel in time, I'd travel back to the future. If there is life on other planets, I believe we'd visit the natives as well as invent different ships and rockets for quicker transportation. With what we have accomplished currently, I believe the ‘future’ isn’t so far away.”
• Grades 10-12: Cynthia Cheng, Grade 11, Edison High School, Edison, NJ, for her doodle “A World of Adventure.” Cynthia says, “If I could travel in time, I'd visit the age of the Vikings. Though their tales of monsters may not have been entirely true, they were some of the greatest explorers in history. It would be a remarkable experience to share adventures and discover new lands with them.”

After the awards ceremony in New York City today, all 50 of our State Winners will unveil an exhibition of their artwork at the New York Public Library, where their doodles will be displayed from May 18-July 19. In addition, the artwork of all our State Finalists and Winners will be displayed at exhibitions in their home states across the country over the summer. Be sure to check out the local exhibition near you.

Thanks to all of you who voted and helped us select this year's winner. Even more important, thank you to all of the students who submitted entries. Keep on doodling and we’ll see you next year!

Posted by Marissa Mayer, VP, Product Management

Samuel Aranda wins the World Press Photo of the Year 2011

The international jury of the 55th annual World Press Photo Contest has selected a picture by Samuel Aranda from Spain as the World Press Photo of the Year 2011. The picture shows a woman holding her wounded son in her arms, inside a mosque used as a field hospital by demonstrators against the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, during clashes in Sanaa, Yemen on 15 October 2011. Samuel Aranda was working in Yemen on assignment for The New York Times. He is represented by Corbis Images.
Comments on the winning photo by the jury
Koyo Kouoh: "It is a photo that speaks for the entire region. It stands for Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Syria, for all that happened in the Arab Spring. But it shows a private, intimate side of what went on. And it shows the role that women played, not only as care-givers, but as active people in the movement."
Nina Berman: "In the Western media, we seldom see veiled women in this way, at such an intimate moment. It is as if all of the events of the Arab Spring resulted in this single moment - in moments like this."
Aidan Sullivan: "The winning photo shows a poignant, compassionate moment, the human consequence of an enormous event, an event that is still going on. We might never know who this woman is, cradling an injured relative, but together they become a living image of the courage of ordinary people that helped create an important chapter in the history of the Middle East."
Manoocher Deghati: "The photo is the result of a very human moment, but it also reminds us of something important, that women played a crucial part in this revolution. It is easy to portray the aggressiveness of situations like these. This image shows the tenderness that can exist within all the aggression. The violence is still there, but it shows another side."
Now in its 55th year, the annual World Press Photo Contest is universally recognized as the world’s leading international contest for photojournalists, setting the standard for the profession. The judging is conducted at the World Press Photo office, where all entries are presented anonymously to the jury, who discusses and debates their merits over a period of two weeks. The jury operates independently, and a secretary without voting rights safeguards a fair procedure.
The jury gave prizes in nine themed categories to 57 photographers of 25 nationalities from: Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the USA.
The contest draws entries by professional press photographers, photojournalists and documentary photographers from across the world, with 5,247 photographers from 124 countries participating this year with 101,254 pictures submitted by the mid-January deadline.
2012 Photo Contest Jury
A group of 19 internationally recognized professionals in the field of photojournalism and documentary photography have convened in Amsterdam from 28 January until 9 February 2012 to judge the entries.
Chair:
Aidan Sullivan, UK, vice president of photo assignments for Getty Images
Members:
•  Monica Allende, Spain, photo editor The Sunday Times Magazine
•  Koji Aoki, Japan, chief photographer Aflo Sport / Aflo Dite and president Aflo Co., Ltd.
•  Patrick Baz, Lebanon/France, photo manager AFP for Middle East
•  Nicole Becker, Germany, senior photo editor sport DPA
•  Al Bello, USA, chief photographer sport Getty Images for North America
•  Daniel Beltrá, Spain, conservation photographer
•  Nina Berman, USA, photographer Noor
•  Pablo Corral Vega, Ecuador, director Nuestramirada.org
•  Manoocher Deghati, France/Iran, regional photo manager AP for Middle East
•  Renata Ferri, Italy, photo editor Io Donna - Corriere della Sera and Amica - RCS MediaGroup, Italy
•  W.M. Hunt, USA, strategist at Dancing B
•  Koyo Kouoh, Cameroon, founder and artistic director Raw Material Company
•  Dana Lixenberg, the Netherlands, photographer
•  Andrei Polikanov, Russia, director of photography Russian Reporter magazine
•  Steve Pyke, UK, artist and photographer
•  Joel Sartore, USA, contributing photographer National Geographic magazine
•  Sophie Stafford, UK, editor BBC Wildlife Magazine
•  Ami Vitale, USA, photographer and filmmaker Panos Pictures/ Ripple Effect Images
Secretaries:
•  Daphné Anglès, France/USA, European photo assignments editor The New York Times
•  Stephen Mayes, UK, managing director VII Photo Agency
Special Mention
Following the judging of the contest, the 2012 jury decided to give a Special Mention to an image of a Libyan National Transition Council fighter pulling Muammar Gaddafi onto a military vehicle. The still image was taken from a video shot in Sirte, Libya, 20 October 2011.
Chair of the jury Aidan Sullivan commented: "The photo captures an historic moment, an image of a dictator and his demise that we otherwise would not have seen, had it not been photographed by a member of the public."
Jury member Renata Ferri said: "This was an important document for posterity, for transparency, and to understand the dynamics of how Gaddafi came to his end."
The jury considers a visual document for a Special Mention when it has played an essential role in the news reporting of the year worldwide and could not have been made by a professional photographer.
Awards Days and 2012 Exhibition
Samuel Aranda, the photographer of the World Press Photo of the Year 2011, will receive the award during the Awards Ceremony in Amsterdam on Saturday, 21 April 2012. The award also carries a cash prize of €10,000. In addition, Canon will donate a Canon EOS Digital SLR Camera and lens kit to Aranda.
The Awards Ceremony is preceded by a two-day program of lectures, discussions and screenings of photography. The exhibition with the award-winning images will be open to the public at the Oude Kerk, Oudekerksplein in Amsterdam on Friday, 20 April 2012. The exhibition in Amsterdam is sponsored by Delta Lloyd and will be on show until 17 June.
At the same, time a worldwide tour of the exhibition will be launched. With a record number of 105 venues in 45 countries for the World Press Photo 11 exhibition last year, our exhibition program has established itself as the most popular and wide-ranging traveling photo event in the world. With the yearbook distributed internationally in seven languages, the winning images will reach a worldwide audience of millions in the course of the year.
2012 Multimedia Contest
The winners of the second Multimedia Contest will be announced online on 15 March 2012. The judges will convene in Amsterdam at the beginning of March. The 2012 Multimedia Contest jury is chaired by director Vincent Laforet, France/USA.
World Press Photo receives support from the Dutch Postcode Lottery and is sponsored worldwide by Canon.
Editors please note:
A selection of the winning images of the Photo Contest will be available for publication at the press conference and from 11 a.m. (C.E.T.) on 10 February 2012 on the international wire services. It is also possible to download the images from our press download area.
Interviews with several jury members are made available to share online.
Please contact Ms. Barbara Bufkens at press@worldpressphoto.org or tel: +31 (0)20 676 6096, for additional information and requests for interviews with jury members.

About World Press Photo

World Press Photo is committed to supporting and advancing high standards in photojournalism worldwide. We strive to generate wide public interest in and appreciation for the work of photographers and for the free exchange of information. Our activities include organizing an annual contest, exhibitions, the stimulation of photojournalism through educational programs, and creating greater visibility for press photography through a variety of publications.
World Press Photo is run as an independent, non-profit organization with its office in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where World Press Photo was founded in 1955.

For further information, please contact:

The press department at World Press Photo, press@worldpressphoto.org or tel. +31(0)20 676 6096

http://www.samuelaranda.net/

Italian museum burns artworks in protest at cuts

 

 Museum director Antonio Manfredi set fire to the first painting on Tuesday.

A museum in Italy has started burning its artworks in protest at budget cuts which it says have left cultural institutions out of pocket.

Antonio Manfredi, of the Casoria Contemporary Art Museum in Naples, set fire to the first painting on Tuesday.
"Our 1,000 artworks are headed for destruction anyway because of the government's indifference," he said.
The work was by French artist Severine Bourguignon, who was in favour of the protest and watched it online.
"The survival of the museum is such an important cause that it justifies the despicable, and painful, act of destroying a work of art," she told the BBC.
"My work burned slowly, with a sinister crackle. It cost me a lot, but I have no other means of protesting against the loss of this institution."
Mr Manfredi plans to burn three paintings a week from now on, in a protest he has dubbed "Art War".
Artists from across Europe have lent their support, including Welsh sculptor John Brown, who torched one of his works, Manifesto, on Monday.

Welsh sculptor John Brown sets fire to one of his works in support of the Italian protest

Mr Brown told the BBC that his organisation, the Documented Art Space in Harlech, North Wales, had exhibited at the Casoria museum in the past.
He said the loss of his artwork had not been particularly upsetting.
"We work in a fairly contemporary manner so the process of making art, and the interaction with people, is more important than keeping it as a precious object."
He called the burning "a symbolic act" to "protest against the way the economic crisis is being dealt with".
"These cuts reach beyond the confines of the visual arts and affect the cohesive well-being of millions of people all over the world."
Italy's debt crisis led to the resignation of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi last year. Since his departure, the government has passed a tough package of austerity measures and other reforms.
Art institutions says they have been particularly affected by the country's economic woes, with state subsidies and charitable donations drying up.

Unesco criticised the "lack of maintenance" at Pompeii earlier this year

One of Italy's leading galleries, the Maxxi Museum of Contemporary Art, said its funding had been cut by 43% in 2011.
When its board of directors failed to approve the 2012 budget last week, the Culture Ministry took steps to replace them with a government-appointed administrator.
International concern was also raised last year over the neglect of Pompeii, one of the world's most precious archaeological sites.
A number of structures in the ancient city have fully or partially collapsed, including the "House of Gladiators" which fell down 18 months ago.
However, Prime Minister Mario Monti announced a 105m euros (£87m) project to reconstruct the ruins earlier this month.
'Adverse circumstances' Mr Manfredi is known as an outspoken and radical museum director.
He opened the Casoria gallery in his hometown, just outside Naples, in 2005 and several of his exhibitions have drawn the ire of the local mafia.
In 2009, a lifesize effigy of an African figure was left impaled over the museum gates following an exhibition of art that dealt with prostitution - a trade occupied locally almost entirely by African immigrants and controlled by organised criminals.

Bourguignon's painting was completely destroyed

Manfredi has also blamed the theft of security cameras and several attempted break-ins on the mafia.
His attempts to focus attention on his museum's funding crisis have been crafted with a keen eye for publicity.
Last year, he announced he had written a letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel asking for asylum, saying he was fed up with the government's failure to protect Italy's rich cultural heritage.
He said he would take his entire museum with him if the asylum was granted, but never received a reply.
He said the latest protest will continue unless the funding situation improves.
A statement from the museum described the first burning as "political, necessary, and compelling in the face of these adverse circumstances"

courtesy:http://www.bbc.co.uk/