The American arms company for its advertising campaign chose the figure of David Michelangelo. Florence authorities plan to sue the "blasphemers"
"The advertising image of armed David is offensive, whiter than that it violates the law. We will take measures to force the American agency to cancel their advertising campaign as soon as possible," wrote Italian Minister of Culture and Tourism Dario Franceschini on his Twitter account.
Instead of a sling - a rifle. David hands Michelangelo Buanarroti, a symbol of Florence, became the "advertising face" of American-made weapons. Arma Lite, an arms company from Illinois, depicted a famous statue in an advertisement for an AR 50A1 tactical rifle worth more than 3 thousand dollars. Photomontage is accompanied by the slogan "A work of art" work of art.
Initially, the advertisement was distributed in specialized American armament publications such as Rifle Firepower, but was then published in Espresso and caused a real scandal in the art world. Cristina Acidini, Florentine Museum Fund ranger reaction, was immediate: she immediately sent the Americans a notification of the start of the lawsuit if they continued to distribute images of David in arms.
"In order to use David, as well as any work stored in our museums for advertising purposes, representatives of the Ministry of Culture explain, it is necessary to evaluate the image so that it does not diminish cultural value. Advertising campaigns of Italian companies are approved by the director and the decision of the museum fund superintendent."
Academy Gallery Director Angelo Tartuferi confirms:
“According to the law, the aesthetic value of a work of art cannot be distorted. Thus, we observe not just an example of bad taste, but also a clear violation of the law. The museum did not receive any official request from the American company: but in any case, we would never didn't give them permission. "
“Of course, we will intervene,” adds Acendini, but then clarifies: “Of course, we are talking about international relations, and we cannot call the FBI against Arma Lite. But I’m going to use all the opportunities I have to force them to stop the advertising campaign starting from "moral suggestion" and ending with a scandal in the press. "
The position of the caretaker is also supported by Sergio Givone, esthetic philosopher and cultural assessor of the Palazzo Vecchio: "This advertisement is a heavy insult.
This is an act of violence against the sculpture: as if it had been hit with a hammer or even worse. Here the very nature of David is distorted, a work expressing the freedom of a citizen before the oppression of the authorities. The statue of Michelangelo depicts a young unarmed guy who is ready to fight Goliath with one sling: in advertising, we see a huge rifle. Not just an insult, but also falsification. "And Jivone offers:" It would be nice to get compensation from an American company. For example, a billion dollars. The figure is astronomical, but why not? We would have restored Pompeii or funded ongoing repairs in Italian museums. "
