Last but not least: After anorexia, the Mafia brand shocks
Italian star photographer Oliviero Toscani has caused a stir in Sicily with a rather unusual anti-Mafia initiative: he registered “Mafia” as a trademark.
Italian star photographer Oliviero Toscani has caused a stir in Sicily with a special kind of anti-mafia initiative: he has registered Mafia as a brand name, as the newspaper La Stampa reported on Saturday according to SDA. M.A.F.I.A. stands for Mediterranean Association For Internal Affair, it said.
This idea was not only met with approval. The president of the Association of Victims of the Mafia, for example, was outraged that not everyone realized that the word mafia stands for the spilled blood of victims.
The artist himself, who is a city councillor in the Sicilian town of Salemi near Palermo, defended his idea as a decision to demythologize the Mafia. Vittorio Sgarbi, ex-Minister of Culture, Mayor of Salemi and co-sponsor of the initiative, also sees nothing wrong with the new brand. The protests only testify to a lack of intelligence. Toscani wanted to use the M.A.F.I.A. brand to protest against the Cosa Nostra in his "own paradoxical and provocative way".
Whether for or against M.A.F.I.A., we can look forward to the photographer's next provocation. Because provoking seems to be in the 66-year-old's genes. Among other things, he is responsible for the newborn baby, the bare bottom stamped H.I.V. positive and the blood-soaked clothing of a killed Yugoslavian soldier - all of which can be seen on Benetton advertising posters. He last made a name for himself in 2007 with a shock campaign against anorexia. The posters showed nude photos of French model Isabelle Caro, who had suffered from anorexia since the age of 14.
This idea was not only met with approval. The president of the Association of Victims of the Mafia, for example, was outraged that not everyone realized that the word mafia stands for the spilled blood of victims.
The artist himself, who is a city councillor in the Sicilian town of Salemi near Palermo, defended his idea as a decision to demythologize the Mafia. Vittorio Sgarbi, ex-Minister of Culture, Mayor of Salemi and co-sponsor of the initiative, also sees nothing wrong with the new brand. The protests only testify to a lack of intelligence. Toscani wanted to use the M.A.F.I.A. brand to protest against the Cosa Nostra in his "own paradoxical and provocative way".
Whether for or against M.A.F.I.A., we can look forward to the photographer's next provocation. Because provoking seems to be in the 66-year-old's genes. Among other things, he is responsible for the newborn baby, the bare bottom stamped H.I.V. positive and the blood-soaked clothing of a killed Yugoslavian soldier - all of which can be seen on Benetton advertising posters. He last made a name for himself in 2007 with a shock campaign against anorexia. The posters showed nude photos of French model Isabelle Caro, who had suffered from anorexia since the age of 14.
