Tony Shafrazi
Encyclopedia
Tony Shafrazi is the owner of the Shafrazi Art Gallery
in New York, who deals artwork by artists such as Francis Bacon, Keith Haring, and David LaChapelle.
On February 28, 1974, Shafrazi spray-painted
Picasso's painting Guernica
, which hung in the Museum of Modern Art
, with the words "KILL LIES ALL". The paint was easily removed as the painting was heavily varnished. It is believed that Shafrazi was protesting the announcement, the day before, of the release on bail of U.S. lieutenant William Calley
. Calley, then under house arrest following his conviction, in 1971, for his part in the My Lai massacre
in Vietnam, had petitioned for habeas corpus
; he had initially been sentenced to life imprisonment. Although his appeal was overturned in June, he was finally released from U.S. Army custody later in the year after having received a limited pardon from Richard Nixon
. Shafrazi was a member of the Art Workers' Coalition
, which in 1970 had staged a protest at MoMA by unfurling a copy of the famous My Lai protest poster And babies
in front of the Guernica painting, which itself depicts the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon innocent civilians.
In an odd turn of events, only a few years later Shafrazi would be the art adviser to the Shah of Iran
and his Peacock Throne
. Shafrazi began to assemble a 20th century art collection
on the Shah's behalf. As he did so his power expanded into the art market. In Tehran, he built a museum to house this collection. The Museum Shafrazi had constructed epitomized the Shah's modern Iranian state, the collection was therefore essentially Western: from Impressionism
to Abstract Expressionism
, Pop and Conceptual Art
.
In 1978, Shafrazi opened his own commercial gallery in a small Tehran shopfront. The gallery was only open briefly, closing because of conditions in the country leading up to the 1979 Revolution.
In regard to his 1974 vandalism of the painting, he gave the following statement to 'Art in America' in December 1980: "I wanted to bring the art absolutely up to date, to retrieve it from art history
and give it life. Maybe that's why the Guernica action remains so difficult to deal with. I tried to trespass beyond that invisible barrier that no one is allowed to cross; I wanted to dwell within the act of the painting's creation, get involved with the making of the work, put my hand within it and by that act encourage the individual viewer to challenge it, deal with it and thus see it in its dynamic raw state as it was being made, not as a piece of history."
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
in New York, who deals artwork by artists such as Francis Bacon, Keith Haring, and David LaChapelle.
On February 28, 1974, Shafrazi spray-painted
Spray painting
Spray painting is a painting technique where a device sprays a coating through the air onto a surface. The most common types employ compressed gas—usually air—to atomize and direct the paint particles. Spray guns evolved from airbrushes, and the two are usually distinguished by their size and the...
Picasso's painting Guernica
Guernica (painting)
Guernica is a painting by Pablo Picasso. It was created in response to the bombing of Guernica, Basque Country, by German and Italian warplanes at the behest of the Spanish Nationalist forces, on 26 April 1937, during the Spanish Civil War...
, which hung in the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, with the words "KILL LIES ALL". The paint was easily removed as the painting was heavily varnished. It is believed that Shafrazi was protesting the announcement, the day before, of the release on bail of U.S. lieutenant William Calley
William Calley
William Laws Calley is a convicted American war criminal and a former U.S. Army officer found guilty of murder for his role in the My Lai Massacre on March 16, 1968, during the Vietnam War.-Early life:...
. Calley, then under house arrest following his conviction, in 1971, for his part in the My Lai massacre
My Lai Massacre
The My Lai Massacre was the Vietnam War mass murder of 347–504 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam on March 16, 1968, by United States Army soldiers of "Charlie" Company of 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade of the Americal Division. Most of the victims were women, children , and...
in Vietnam, had petitioned for habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
; he had initially been sentenced to life imprisonment. Although his appeal was overturned in June, he was finally released from U.S. Army custody later in the year after having received a limited pardon from Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
. Shafrazi was a member of the Art Workers' Coalition
Art Workers' Coalition
The Art Workers' Coalition was an open coalition of artists, filmmakers, writers, critics, and museum staff that formed in New York City in January 1969. Its principal aim was to pressure the city's museums – notably the Museum of Modern Art – into implementing various reforms...
, which in 1970 had staged a protest at MoMA by unfurling a copy of the famous My Lai protest poster And babies
And babies
And babies is an iconic anti-Vietnam War poster. It is a famous example of "propaganda art" from the Vietnam conflict that uses the now infamous color photograph of the My Lai Massacre taken by U.S. combat photographer Ronald L. Haeberle in March 1968...
in front of the Guernica painting, which itself depicts the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon innocent civilians.
In an odd turn of events, only a few years later Shafrazi would be the art adviser to the Shah of Iran
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...
and his Peacock Throne
Peacock Throne
The Peacock Throne, called Takht-e Tâvus in Persian, is the name originally given to a Mughal throne of India, which was later adopted and used to describe the thrones of the Persian emperors from Nader Shah Afshari and erroneously to Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi whose throne was a reconstruction of...
. Shafrazi began to assemble a 20th century art collection
Collection (museum)
A museum is distinguished by a collection of often unique objects that forms the core of its activities for exhibitions, education, research, etc. This differentiates it from an archive or library, where the contents may be more paper-based, replaceable and less exhibition oriented...
on the Shah's behalf. As he did so his power expanded into the art market. In Tehran, he built a museum to house this collection. The Museum Shafrazi had constructed epitomized the Shah's modern Iranian state, the collection was therefore essentially Western: from Impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
to Abstract Expressionism
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
, Pop and Conceptual Art
Conceptual art
Conceptual art is art in which the concept or idea involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Many of the works, sometimes called installations, of the artist Sol LeWitt may be constructed by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions...
.
In 1978, Shafrazi opened his own commercial gallery in a small Tehran shopfront. The gallery was only open briefly, closing because of conditions in the country leading up to the 1979 Revolution.
In regard to his 1974 vandalism of the painting, he gave the following statement to 'Art in America' in December 1980: "I wanted to bring the art absolutely up to date, to retrieve it from art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
and give it life. Maybe that's why the Guernica action remains so difficult to deal with. I tried to trespass beyond that invisible barrier that no one is allowed to cross; I wanted to dwell within the act of the painting's creation, get involved with the making of the work, put my hand within it and by that act encourage the individual viewer to challenge it, deal with it and thus see it in its dynamic raw state as it was being made, not as a piece of history."