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"
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