Why This 'Art' Project Showing Famous Women as Abuse Victims Isn't OK

Italian pop artist aleXsandro Palombo gets a good deal of press for his cheeky, so-called satirical work that sometimes is sort of funny and other times falls flat. Homer Simpson and Anna Wintour exploring the Kama Sutra? Har har. Photoshopping famous women to look as if they’re victims of domestic abuse? We’re not laughing.

On Tuesday, Palombo’s “press office” sent out an email blast to media explaining his newest project, entitled “Life Can Be a Fairytale, If You Break the Silence.” After clicking in, we were pretty shocked to see doctored images of female stars like Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Emma Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, Miley Cyrus, Kristen Stewart, and several well-known female cartoon characters bloodied, bruised, and swollen.

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The point, apparently, was to show that “no woman is immune” to domestic violence.

To be fair, the artist’s intentions, presumably, weren’t malicious: He released the images on November 25 , the International Day for Elimination of Violence, and tried to make it clear in the email that the goal wasn’t shock value for shock value’s sake, but rather to “persuade all the victims of abuse to break the silence denouncing their situation and raise awareness on the fact that all women can be victims of abuse, that no one is immune, even if you live the fairy-tale life like celebrities.”

The email went on to explain “Palombo’s work catapult[s] the viewers into reality, allowing them to make a deep reflection on what is our society today.”

Good intentions aside, lots of viewers weren’t too thrilled about the project, Kim and Kendall among them. TMZ is reporting that the half-sisters already contacted attorneys to issue Palombo a warning regarding photo usage without permission. The site points out that both women support the cause but want to show it on their own terms.

It’s a valid point; a quick scroll through Palombo’s Facebook page proves that some commenters don’t realize his work is “art” and seem to think these celebrities voluntarily took part in a campaign.

“It’s good to know that influential woman are coming out to help a serious cause that needs more attention. Domestic Violence is REAL … as a survivor … wish more ppl would come out to help stop the violence,” one user wrote.

Although legal recourse might not be possible—the photos are publicly available, and the artist isn’t selling them—the project absolutely crosses an uncomfortable line given the fact each “victim” is a woman, a point more discerning Facebook users noticed.

“While I appreciate the initiative, I have to agree with [other commenter] Matt in that it’s a bit one-sided indeed, since more than 40 percent of the victims of domestic abuse are in fact men. If you do this for women, great—absolutely necessary, but do so also for the large group of male victims,” one comment read.

This isn’t the first time the artist has tried to raise awareness using particularly touchy circumstances. Past works include “Disabled Disney Princesses,” “The Simpsons Go to Auschwitz,” and “The Simpsons Turn Black, I Can’t Breath[e].”

Art as commentary or as a vehicle to raise awareness is as old as art itself, and it can be really effective when done thoughtfully. In this case, given that each subject is a strong, often divisive woman, it reads more angry than sympathetic.

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