Christ said, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." Matthew 19:24
It is also true that a camel will spit in your eye.
In this regard, camels are much like politicians, who seem to have no qualms about spitting in the eyes of taxpayers.
A case in point is the sculpture which will greet visitors to the new American Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan.
The life-size, solid white, dromedary (one hump) camel looking quizzically at the eye of a giant needle standing upright in the ground is titled, appropriately enough, "Camel Contemplating Needle."
The government's Contracting Document for the purchase of the piece describes it thusly: "This is a large 500 lb fiberglass, aluminum, stainless steel, acrylic and painted, contemporary art piece."
The purchase price - $400,000.00!
The Contracting Document describes the creator, John Anthony Baldessari, as "an American conceptual artist known for his work featuring found photography and appropriated images.”
Whatever that's supposed to mean.
Steven Beyer, the art dealer representing Baldessari, said, "The $400,000 price tag is actually a very reduced price for this sculpture. There is an art market that makes these prices, and this is one of the most prominent American artists.”
A State Department spokesperson commented, “Public art which will be presented in the new embassy should reflect the values of a predominantly Islamist country."
It should be noted that the metaphor of a camel passing through the eye of a needle also appears in the Qur'an, and intentional or not, the almost half-million-dollar sculpture, is a spit in the eye of Pakistan's citizens, where the average family income is $1,250 a year.
I guess we should all be thankful that the artist didn't get his inspiration from "We Three Kings of Orient Are."
No comments:
Post a Comment