Abu Ghraib exhibit, news conference update |
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11 January 2007 ATTENTION: UPDATED TIMES FOR ABU GHRAIB EXHIBIT AND PRESS CONFERENCE |
Contact:
Kathleen Maclay, Media Relations
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WHAT
An exhibit at the University of California, Berkeley, of 24 paintings and 23 drawings from the provocative Abu Ghraib collection by Colombian artist Fernando Botero that depict the torture of Iraqi prisoners at the infamous Iraq prison.
Botero is considered Latin America's best known living artist and is among the best known artists in the world today. His bold and distinctive style has a broad appeal that Asia Pacific Sculpture News described as "a vision of humanity that transcends the boundaries of cultural specificity, a vision of humanity that pulsates to the ancient universal rhythms of life." Botero said he produced the deeply disturbing Abu Ghraib collection after reading a news account of the scandal.
Sponsored by UC Berkeley's Center for Latin American Studies, this collection has been exhibited in major museums throughout Europe, but never in museums in the United States.
WHEN
The free exhibit opens at 6 p.m., Monday, Jan. 29, and continues through Friday, March 23. Hours will be 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. More details are online at: http://clas.berkeley.edu.
WHERE
190 Doe Library, near the library's north entrance, at UC Berkeley, California. A map is available at: http://www.berkeley.edu/map/maps/BC34.html.
DETAILS
A news conference at 11:30 a.m., Monday, Jan. 29, will precede the official opening. It will take place in Room 190, Doe Library. Participants will include Botero; Harley Shaiken, the center's chair and a UC Berkeley professor; and UC Berkeley Librarian Tom Leonard.
Sample images from the Abu Ghraib collection are available to the media by contacting Kathleen Maclay in UC Berkeley's Media Relations at (510) 643-5651.