In San Francisco, a bill that the mistreatment of animals, «art to» be considered a criminal offense

In the municipal council of San Francisco is at the discussion the bill, according to which any display of cruelty to animals by the artists will be punished with jail. If this bill is adopted, those who «the sake of art» kills animals or dooming them to death, ill-treat them and cause them suffering, and those who sponsor such creative artists, will be classified as committing a minor or a serious criminal offense (depending on the damage to the animal).

By Bill Christine Garcia (Christine Garcia) said in an interview with British newspaper The Art Newspaper: «If you allow free debate on this topic, they will be found acceptable, and more and more people will produce them, and create a addressed to the suffering of animals ». The bill is being finalized, and before becoming a full-fledged law, he will have to go through the legislative bodies of the city.

Violent discussion ran high after the scandalous exhibition of French-Algerian artist Adel Abdessemeda (Adel Abdessemed) at the Art Institute of San Francisco (The San Francisco Art Institute). In his video Abdessemed showed the killing of six farm animals. The exhibition opened in mid-March, but a week later it had to be closed, as activists for animal rights have been threatened with death artists, curators Hanzhu Hou (Hou Hanru) and other organizers of the event. According to the Institute of Arts, Abdessemed's work just trying to show the traditional Mexican ways of food production and in the video is no unnecessary violence against animals has not been used.

In mid-March, the California Organization «In Defense of Animals» (In Defense of Animals), whose representatives spoke before the municipal council the city, sent its members to 30 thousand e-mails to «call to action». They included a request to require the immediate closure of the exhibition Abdessemeda.

According to Okvui Envezora (Okwui Enwezor), Dean of Studies Institute of the Arts in San Francisco, sponsors exhibitions, which include the Andy Warhol Foundation (The Andy Warhol Foundation) and the Peter Norton Family Foundation (The Peter Norton Family Foundation), scandalous event organizers have sent letters of support. In early 2008 Abdessemeda exhibition was held in Grenoble (France), which did not cause any protests. In April, she was to be held in Glasgow (Scotland), but the supervisors refused to conduct her.

Source: www.theartnewspaper.com