Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Arts & Entertainment

Los Angeles Artist Will Reprint Life-Sized Leaked Celebrity Nudes As, Uh, Some Sort Of Statement On Privacy

shutterstock_154930343.jpg
Fear Google! Or the guy who is hacking into your laptop (Photo by Amir Kaljikovic via Shutterstock)

One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.

A gallery in Florida announced their plans to drum up controversy and cash in on a high-profile sex crime for an exhibit by Los Angeles artist XVALA that will feature nudes of Kate Upton and Jennifer Lawrence that leaked over the weekend.

The plan is to print out the leaked, unaltered nudes of Upton and Lawrence on a life-sized canvas. Whether that's legal, we're not sure, but that's the plan as E! Online is reporting it. The nudes will be part of a larger exhibit called "No Delete" that will open on October 30.

Artist XVALA has been amassing a seven-year collection of images found on Google that show celebrities in "their most vulnerable and private moments, that were comprised by either hackers or the paparazzi." The artist previously plastered photos of Scarlett Johansson's leaked nudes on the streets of Los Angeles with strategically placed "Fear Google" logos. The exhibit at Cory Allen Contemporary Art in St. Petersburg, Florida will also include a photo of Britney Spears with a freshly-shaved head.

"We share our secrets with technology," said XVALA, in a statement. "And when we do, our privacy becomes accessible to others."

Cory Allen said in a statement that XVALA's "Fear Google" campaign has "helped strengthen the ongoing debate over privacy in the digital era." He added, "The commentary behind this show is a reflection of who we are today. We all become 'users' and in the end, we become 'used.'"

One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.

If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today