26 December 2013

Less than a year after he became a symbol of apartheid in the US for shooting to death Black teen Trayvon Martin and calling it an act of self-defence, American George Zimmerman has made news again, this time triggered by his newly found love for painting.

The debutant artist, said to be deep in debt, has sold his first painting on eBay for an incredible $100,000 and more. It’s no less than another Christmas (more…)

by Matt Wilstein | 3:39 pm, 12/24/2013

If George Zimmerman can sell his first-ever painting for more than $100,000 on eBay, why shouldn’t another artist be able to sell his anti-Zimmerman piece for a fraction of that price?

On the same day that Zimmerman’s auction closed, eBay reportedly yanked a piece by artist Michael D’Antuono from the site that depicted a police officer in a Ku Klux Klan hood, who may or may not be Zimmerman, with his gun pointed at a young Trayvon Martin holding out a bag of Skittle-like “Sweeties.”

A Tale of Two Hoodies

D’Antuono explained the situation on his blog:

On the same day that George Zimmerman closed his ebay auction of his painting for over $100,000, the online auctioneers removed my anti-racism painting inspired by the Zimmerman case, “A Tale Of Two Hoodies” for being “hateful or discriminatory.” While Zimmerman was allowed to capitalize on his ill-gotten notoriety, I was denied the opportunity to raise funds to help the very foundation named in honor of Zimmerman’s victim.

The artist went on to say that the bidding on his piece had just passed the $25,000 mark on day two of its auction, with half of the proceeds going to The Trayvon Martin Foundation. According to an email the artist received from eBay, items “promoting or glorifying hatred, violence, or racial or religious intolerance aren’t allowed.” The email specifically referenced the “images or icons associated with the KKK” in his piece. (more…)

On the same day that George Zimmerman’s painting raked in over $100,000 on eBay, artist Micheal D’Antuono was told by the same online auction company that his artistic interpretation of the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin confrontation violated eBay’s Hateful or Discriminatory policy and was removed from the website. (more…)

Here’s one for the Irony Department. This weekend George Zimmerman’s painting sold for $100,099.00 on eBay, the very same weekend that artist Michael D’Antuono’s “A Tale of Two Hoodies” was removed by the online auction company.

Here is what D’Antuono said on his Facebook page:

I’m sad to announce that ebay removed my “A Tale Of Two Hoodies” auction from their site. They allowed George Zimmerman to profit from his crime, yet I was denied the opportunity to speak out against racism & help victims. As the bidding started to gain momentum, passing the $25,000 mark, they took it off, deeming my auction “hateful and discriminatory.” If their stance seems wrong to you, feel free to share. (more…)