Cosimo Cavallaro (born 1961) is an Italian-Canadian artist, filmmaker and sculptor. Born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, Quebec, Canada, Cavallaro is known for his numerous installation art pieces involving real cheese, including a series of photographs of the iconic 1960s model

Twiggy Dame Lesley Lawson (''née'' Hornby; born 19 September 1949) is an English model, actress, and singer, widely known by the nickname Twiggy. She was a British cultural icon and a prominent teenaged model during the swinging '60s in London. ...

draped in cheese and covering the inside of a New York City hotel room with melted cheese.

''My Sweet Lord''

In March 2007, the Lab Gallery at the

Roger Smith Hotel The Roger Smith Hotel is a family-run boutique hotel established in 1929, located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. History The Roger Smith was originally a hotel chain. The Roger Smith Corporation opened the first Roger Smith hotel in Stamfor ...

in Manhattan announced that it was canceling its planned "My Sweet Lord" exhibition scheduled for

Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, wh ...

because the hotel had received death threats following a radio broadcast by

Bill Donohue William Anthony Donohue (born July 18, 1947) is an American Roman Catholic who has been president of the Catholic League in the United States since 1993. Life and career Donohue was born in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New Yo ...

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 Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

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 Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

; Michael,

Jude Jude may refer to: People Biblical * Jude, brother of Jesus, who is sometimes identified as being the same person as Jude the Apostle * Jude the Apostle, an apostle also called Judas Thaddaeus or Lebbaeus, the patron saint of lost causes in the ...

Anthony Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...

and Fermin—all made by Cavallaro from sweet chocolate.

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 The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

for Best Music Video for his video for Boomtown, by Canadian singer-songwriter Andrew Cash. He lives in New York City.

References

External links

Official website with large gallery of photosPhotograph of chocolate Jesus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavallaro, Cosimo 1961 births Living people Canadian people of Italian descent Canadian Roman Catholics Artists from Montreal Juno Award for Video of the Year winners Canadian music video directors Sculptors from Quebec 21st-century Canadian sculptors Canadian male sculptors 21st-century Canadian male artists

''My Sweet Lord''

See also

References

External links