The 250 women invited to a fund-raiser for Hillary Clinton at the home of D.C. lobbyists Tony and Heather Podesta earlier this month were surprised to see that a prominent piece from couple’s art collection — Soliloquy VII, an eight-foot photo by the artist Sam Taylor Wood of a nude man lying on his back — had been taken down. Was it because the hosts were afraid that the combined sweat from several hundred menopausal society ladies would cause the photograph to melt? Or because they feared that after a few glasses of sherry the women might become hysterical and claw at the models’ glossy skin with their bare hands until it was naught but a pile of shiny ribbons?
Quoted from NYmag

Hillary Clinton Related Links

• Is Hillary Afraid Of A Guy’s Picture? - PDN Online
  Guests noticed something funny when they attended the November 5 fundraiser for Clinton’s campaign at the home of Tony and Heather Podesta: “Soliloquy VII,” an 8-foot-tall nude shot by British artist Sam Taylor-Wood, wasn’t hanging in its usual spot on the living room wall.
• The Man at Hillary’s Fund-Raiser - Town Hall
  The photo previously enjoyed a prominent place in the living room of the Podestas Washington, D.C., home. When the Podestas held a fund-raiser for Mrs. Clinton two weeks ago, however, neither the photo nor Mrs. Clinton made an appearance.
• Well, That’s One Man Out of the Picture for Hillary - Washington Post
  They’re also nationally known collectors of contemporary art, and one of their favorite pieces is “Soliloquy VII,” an eight-foot-tall color photo of a…

Who is Sam Taylor Wood?

Sam Taylor-Wood (born London, England, 4 March 1967) is a contemporary artist working mostly in video and photography. She has been identified as a member of the young British Artist group, and is a graduate of Goldsmiths College.

Following University, Taylor-Wood held jobs at the Royal Opera House, and managed the Camden Palace nightclub. In 1991 her work began to appear in a number of group exhibitions alongside that of contemporaries from Goldsmiths. Her breakthrough came in 1994 with the work “Killing Time” in which four people mimed an opera score. From that point multi-screen video works became the main focus of Taylor-Wood’s work. Beginning with the video works “Travesty of a Mockery” and “Pent-Up” in 1996, Taylor-Wood began to use professional actors. Her work since 1996 has often featured celebrity friends: Elton John was included in a large photo-work, and commissioned Taylor-Wood to make a promotional video starring Robert Downey Jr. for one of his records. In 2002, Taylor-Wood was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery to make a video portrait of David Beckham sleeping.

She is also a long-time collaborator with Pet Shop Boys having produced films for their Somewhere concerts at the Savoy Theatre, London. She has also been guest vocalist on two Pet Shop Boys produced songs - in the Boys’ rendition of Serge Gainsbourg’s “Je t’aime… moi non plus” and Donna Summer’s “Love to Love You Baby”. For the latter of these two releases, she used the pseudonym Kiki Kokova.
Source: Wikipedia

Sam Taylor Wood Related Links

• Sam Taylor-Wood - ArtNet
  Find works of art, auction results & sale prices of artist Sam Taylor-Wood at galleries and auctions worldwide.
• Sam Taylor-Wood Biography - White Cube
  Sam Taylor-Wood makes photographs and films that examine, through highly charged scenarios, our shared social and psyschological conditions.
• Alfred Hickling review - The Guardian
  The show is filled with work that has been exhibited before, notably the film of David Beckham sleeping, about which everything has been said already…
• Sam Taylor Wood Video Interview - BBC
  What do you do when you’re an artist known as much for your fame as for your artwork? Sam Taylor-Wood has always walked this fine line.
• David Beckham Sleeping Video at Liverpool Walker Gallery - Art in Liverpool
  “You can watch the hour-long video in comfort, I don’t know how long its there for.”
• Sam Taylor Wood Image Gallery - Google Images