The outspoken art critic and polemicist Vittorio Sgarbi is embroiled in another dispute, this time involving an avant-garde Christmas tree. Sgarbi, a former under secretary of state for the ministry of culture, resigned earlier this week as council member for culture in the western Italian town of Urbino. The outspoken curator, who is known for his vehement dislike of contemporary art, was unhappy after city officials decided to erect the conical steel structure in the central square, according to La Stampa. The artist Ermes Ottaviani created 16 panels for the temporary landmark, a number of which depict exulting angels. He tells us: “I'm sorry about the events of the past few weeks; if I had known that there would be difficulties, I would never have taken part in the project.” Sgarbi threatened to resign if the tree remained, saying in a statement that it is “a useless and immoral eyesore” (he declined to comment further). The tree is still in place; Sgarbi, on the other hand, is now an ex-council member of Urbino.
