Cosimo Cavallaro
Encyclopedia
Cosimo Cavallaro is an Italian-Canadian
artist
, filmmaker and sculptor. He is known for his numerous installation art pieces involving real cheese
, including a series of photographs of the iconic 1960s model Twiggy
draped in cheese and covering the inside of a New York City
hotel
room with melted cheese.
because the hotel had received death threats
following a radio broadcast by Bill Donohue
of the Catholic League
. "My Sweet Lord" is a life-size and anatomically correct depiction of Jesus
-- with neither cross nor loincloth—in an attitude of crucifixion, and sculpted entirely from chocolate
.
The sculpture
in question is a new version of the original "My Sweet Lord," formed from 200 pounds of chocolate which had been damaged by rodents while it was in storage in Brooklyn. Cavallaro discarded the original piece and recast the sculpture. The new work is intended to be displayed with a group of chocolate saints, including St. Francis
; Augustine
; Michael, Jude
, Anthony
and Fermin -- all made by Cavallaro from sweet chocolate.
Bill Donohue
was quoted as describing this as "one of the worst assaults on Christian sensibilities ever" and told Cavallaro in a live interview on CNN
"you're lucky I'm not like the Taliban, because you would lose more than your head"
. Donohue even accused him of lying about being a Roman Catholic, and even a Christian at all.
Cavallaro won the 1990 Juno Award
for Best Music Video for his video for Boomtown, by Canadian singer-songwriter
Andrew Cash
. He lives in New York City.
Italian-Canadian
An Italian Canadian is a Canadian of Italian descent or heritage. According to the 2006 census of Canada, 1,445,335 Canadians consider themselves to be of Italian origin. The Italian-Canadian population climbed by more than 12% and half have combined Italian origins along with another ethnic...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, filmmaker and sculptor. He is known for his numerous installation art pieces involving real cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
, including a series of photographs of the iconic 1960s model Twiggy
Twiggy
Lesley Lawson née Hornby known as Twiggy is an English model, actress, and singer. In the early-1960s she became a prominent British teenage model of swinging sixties London with others such as Penelope Tree....
draped in cheese and covering the inside of a New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
room with melted cheese.
My Sweet Lord
In March, 2007, the Lab Gallery at the Roger Smith Hotel in Manhattan announced that it was canceling its planned "My Sweet Lord" exhibition scheduled for Holy WeekHoly Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
because the hotel had received death threats
following a radio broadcast by Bill Donohue
William A. Donohue
William Anthony "Bill" Donohue is the president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights in the United States, a position he has held since 1993.-Life and career:...
of the Catholic League
Catholic League (U.S.)
The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, often shortened to the Catholic League, is an American Catholic anti-defamation and civil rights organization...
. "My Sweet Lord" is a life-size and anatomically correct depiction of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
-- with neither cross nor loincloth—in an attitude of crucifixion, and sculpted entirely from chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
.
The sculpture
Chocolate Jesus
Chocolate Jesus may refer to: Cosimo Cavallaro's sculpture My Sweet Lord ; to another life-size chocolate sculpture which predates Cavallo's by 13 years -- Trans-substantiation 2 -- a work by Australian artist and student of philosophy Richard Manderson; or to a group of approximately 100 smaller...
in question is a new version of the original "My Sweet Lord," formed from 200 pounds of chocolate which had been damaged by rodents while it was in storage in Brooklyn. Cavallaro discarded the original piece and recast the sculpture. The new work is intended to be displayed with a group of chocolate saints, including St. Francis
Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...
; Augustine
St. Augustine
-People:* Augustine of Hippo or Augustine of Hippo , father of the Latin church* Augustine of Canterbury , first Archbishop of Canterbury* Augustine Webster, an English Catholic martyr.-Places:*St. Augustine, Florida, United States...
; Michael, Jude
Saint Jude (disambiguation)
Saint Jude or Jude the Apostle was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus.Saint Jude or St. Jude can also refer to:*Jude, brother of Jesus, one of the brethren of Jesus*The author of the Epistle of Jude*St. Jude Medical, a medical device company...
, Anthony
Anthony of Padua
Anthony of Padua or Anthony of Lisbon, O.F.M., was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. Though he died in Padua, Italy, he was born to a wealthy family in Lisbon, Portugal, which is where he was raised...
and Fermin -- all made by Cavallaro from sweet chocolate.
Bill Donohue
William A. Donohue
William Anthony "Bill" Donohue is the president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights in the United States, a position he has held since 1993.-Life and career:...
was quoted as describing this as "one of the worst assaults on Christian sensibilities ever" and told Cavallaro in a live interview on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
"you're lucky I'm not like the Taliban, because you would lose more than your head"
. Donohue even accused him of lying about being a Roman Catholic, and even a Christian at all.
Cavallaro won the 1990 Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
for Best Music Video for his video for Boomtown, by Canadian singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Andrew Cash
Andrew Cash
Andrew Cash is a Canadian singer-songwriter and a Member of Parliament for the Toronto-area Davenport electoral district. He grew up in Toronto, where he befriended future MP, Charlie Angus, and along with Angus founded the Toronto punk band L'Étranger. In the late 1990s, he also became a...
. He lives in New York City.