MILWAUKEE, USA: The Milwaukee Art Museum says it hopes a portrait of Pope Benedict XVI made of condoms will ignite a conversation about the AIDS epidemic in Africa and the role art plays in public discussions, director Dan Keegan said on Monday.
The museum said that about 200 callers have complained about the portrait. Milwaukee Catholic Archbishop Jerome Listecki called the museum callous and the portrait insulting in a blog last week on the Archdiocese website.
About 17,000 colorful condoms were stitched together to fashion the portrait called " Eggs Benedict," which the museum plans to put on display in November, museum spokeswoman Vicki Scharfberg said.
“This piece is made out of 17,000 non-lubricated condoms. What I did was inter-stuff them and fold them to create this tonal range,” said artist Niki Johnson