[ad_1]
Rome: The artist who created a monkey image for an anti-racism campaign for Italian football’s Serie A said his work had been misunderstood but apologised to those who were offended.
Italian artist Simone Fugazzotto told La Repubblica that his idea to depict white, Asian and black people as monkeys was meant to be a “defense tool” against the insults some Italian fans often use against black football players.
The campaign, launched by the Italian soccer league on Monday, drew immediate criticism because its image featured close-ups of three monkey faces, each with a slightly different color.
“As an artist, there is no obligation for me to do anything, but I will certainly join the league in apologizing to those who feel offended,” Fugazotto said, adding that he has been painting monkeys throughout his career.
As a soccer fan, Fugazotto said he witnessed fans in the stadium making monkey noises and throwing bananas at black players.
“I decided to make everyone a monkey. A Caucasian monkey, an Asian monkey, an African monkey,” he explained, trying to subvert the concept of the derogatory word “monkey.”
He said he originally wanted the images to be accompanied by the text “We are all monkeys.”
Fugazotto almost always painted monkeys in a variety of styles, wearing human clothing and representing different cultures and historical periods.
[ad_2]
Source link
