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Local artists were left shaken and humiliated after an art curator threw tomato soup on their artwork. The curator is speaking out, saying that he doesn’t quite know if it was all worth it.
Artist and curator Emiliano Settecasi was running out of money and on his last dime before he decided to pull a stunt that gained media attention.
“I don’t know, I’m an artist. All I’ve known all my life was artists should take risks, artist should challenge, that’s the word we use in all our statements. My artwork challenges x, y, and z”
The curator gathered works from local artists for what they believed to be a show on American Art.
On the day of the show, Settecasi threw tomato soup on their artwork.
Various artist posted on social media expressing their outrage of their art being defaced without their knowledge. One even posted a video burning a photo of the curator, Settecasi.
Kira Gondack-Silvia is a visual artist from Central Florida. Her art was defaced.
“It really just is a lot like bringing your kid to a nursery and then the person in charge going and abusing your kid.”
However, Settecasi said the whole thing was pre-planned.
“My calculation was, that if I can absorb enough hate on myself, for the whole community to become famous, for eyeballs to finally be looking at the talent and the people that are here- I consider that worth it.”
He says he has little to say to artists that feel hurt.
“My experience has taught me that my answers are not sufficient in this conversation, because of the pain I caused, and because I was deceptive, the trust in me, I understand, has diminished.”
In a statement posted on Instagram, The Kress Contemporary said they were shocked at the destruction of artwork in their walls, and it “directly opposes the organization’s mission.”
