SPONSOR QUITS ‘ LURID’ GADDAFI SHOW
MONTREAL ART EXHIBITION
MONTREAL •
The critics have spoken during European stops of an exhibition of paintings by one of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s sons — “lurid,” said one; “a triumph of banality,” said another. Yesterday it was Hydro- Québec’s turn, as the government-owned utility pulled its $75,000 sponsorship from the exhibition less than two weeks before its Sept. 26 opening in Montreal.
Libya may be leaving the ranks of the world’s pariah states after renouncing terrorism, but 33year-old Saif Gaddafi, the man expected to succeed his father as Libyan leader, is carving out a niche as a pariah artist.
A Hydro-Québec spokeswoman said the utility had been told by official sponsor SNC- Lavalin that the exhibit of Mr. Gaddafi’s works would be held “ under the aegis” of Montreal’s Museum of Fine Arts. In fact, the museum was adamant yesterday that it never had anything to do with the Libyan art show, which combines about 30 antiquities with 36 paintings by Mr. Gaddafi and 11 by other artists.
When Hydro- Québec learned this week that the museum was not involved, it decided to withdraw its support, spokeswoman Marie Archambault said. The utility has a policy of only associating with public exhibitions.
Despite Mr. Gaddafi’s questionable stature in the art world and lingering concerns about Libya’s human-rights record, an impressive roster of Canadian corporate sponsors is backing the exhibition, The Desert Is Not Silent.
In addition to engineering giant SNC-Lavalin, Petro- Canada, Bombardier, CAE and Verenex Energy have agreed to contribute.
Gillian MacCormack, vice- president public relations for SNCLavalin, said her company was asked to help arrange the Montreal show because it has been working in Libya for 20 years.
“We are very pleased to be associated with this exhibition because it provides an opportunity for Canadians to get to know the culture and heritage of these people. We are all for an exchange of values, and we think we have some in common,” she said. “ It’s a country we know very well, and we certainly hope and plan to be working in Libya for another 20 years.”
She said artistic merit was not really a consideration for her firm in deciding to sponsor the show. “ I think we need to leave the judgment of the art up to the Montreal public who are going to see it.”
Isabelle Rondeau, a spokeswoman for Bombardier, which is not currently active in Libya, said sponsoring the exhibition, which will be held at Montreal’s Marché Bonsecours, is an example of good corporate citizenship. But she acknowledged there is a business interest in getting into Libya’s good books. “ Of course, we do think that the Middle East in general is a region where there are interesting business opportunities,” she said.
Michelle Harries, a Petro-Canada spokeswoman, denied that her firm, which is active in Libya, is using the sponsorship to curry favor. “We’re doing this because we like to support the communities we operate in,” she said. “ It’s a chance for them to showcase themselves outside Libya, in a way that promotes their heritage and culture.” She declined to comment on the quality of Mr. Gaddafi’s paintings. “ Art is subjective,” she said.
The European-educated Mr. Gaddafi serves as an unofficial ambassador for his country, which is opening up to the West after years of hostility. Libya has re-established diplomatic relations with Canada, the U.S. and Europe after acknowledging responsibility for past terrorist attacks and vowing to end programs to create weapons of mass destruction.
Some political prisoners have been freed, but Amnesty International reported last year that abuses continue.
Among the paintings on display in Montreal will be The Challenge, in which the artist’s father glares down from the sky at three hooded figures carrying crucifixes. “Libya was as strong as a rock, against which the arrogance of the neocrusaders was broken,” a catalogue accompanying the exhibit in London commented.