“I have absolutely no intention of challenging the work of the magistrates and I don't even want to challenge the municipal resolution”, so to the daily newspaper The Reason Dominic Sepe, the author of the statue di Maradona, returned to sender by Common di Napoli because it is too valuable to be donated.
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Sepe: “Bitter taste in the mouth for the way the affair was handled”
Today, after all the fuss about the affair, Sepe talks about “bitter taste in the mouth” and “professional damage” caused by “ways in which the affair was handled”.
“I learned about the revocation of the donation from a journalist from Il Mattino, I wondered if he was joking, no one from the Municipality took the trouble to inform me in advance, I am very shocked by this story, I had discussed the positioning of the work at length with the municipal councilor for Sport”, says the sculptor.
“It would have been enough – the sculptor again from the pages of La Ragione – a note from the Municipality in which it was communicated, in agreement with the artist, that pending the conclusion of the judicial investigations, the statue would be removed from its location”.
The Municipality's motivations: prestige and visibility for the artist
Sepe therefore announces a press conference in the next few days in a well-known bar in the centre of Napoli to reveal further details on the unfortunate situation. According to the Municipality, “the installation of the work at the Maradona stadium seems capable of returning to the donor a non-irrelevant utility in terms of prestige and visibility”.
“Such utility, in addition to clashing with the typical gratuitousness of the donation, may be attractive and open to dispute by other artists and consequently requires respect for the principle of impartiality and the use of public tender procedures”.
In essence, the sculptor of the statue of Diego would have enjoyed, the newspaper points out, through the installation in front of the city stadium, greater visibility than other artists.
“In truth I have already worked several times in collaboration with the Municipality, and then only two statues of Maradona were produced, mine and another one that is available to Napoli football club, furthermore I have never claimed that it was the only installation of Maradona in front of the stadium”.
“But that donation contract was well before the presentation of the work, which took place with great fanfare in November.
Why is the resolution emerging after such a long time?”, asks the sculptor, who will present his work at the Menti Stadium di Vicenza his statue in honor of Paolo Rossi.
Article published on 24 February 2023 - 21:35
