A sort of political camouflage to disguise what’s really going on

　集英社インターナショナルのtwitterやFacebookも伝えている。

　ダ・ヴィンチの男性版モナリザとも呼ばれる「サルバトール・ムンディ」が現在どこにあるのか、その行方は分かっていません。それについて今年6月、サウジアラビアが「サルバトール・ムンディ」を展示する美術館を国内に建設すると『フィナンシャル・タイムズ』が報じました。

　https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-arabias-secret-plans-to-unveil-its-hidden-da-vinciand-become-an-art-world-heavyweight-11591448400

　https://twitter.com/Shueisha_int/status/1315558342392045568

　このニュースについて、『最後のダ・ヴィンチの真実　510億円の「傑作」に群がった欲望』の著者ベン・ルイスにオンライン・インタビューしてたずねた。

We heard the news that Saudi Arabia is planning to build a museum for Salvator Mundi. Could you give me more information about that?

　https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twcSPSvkXWA&feature=youtu.be

I know very little about the sort of museums the Saudis say they’re going to build to house the Salvator Mundi in Saudi Arabia. I mean, they’ve come up with all these plans and huge budgets that get reported in the FT (Financial Times). They say they’re going to spend X billion and build 200 new museums and turn Saudi Arabia into a great cultural destination. Well, when it happens it happens, but it hasn’t happened yet.

One worries that all this talk is just talk designed to get a bit of good publicity in the West. Art, unfortunately today, is often a camouflage for human rights abuses.  These regimes say they’re going to spend lots of money on art and they allow a certain kind of “safe art” to happen in their countries. The stuff is censored, but if it says something fairly bland how great humanity, then that’s okay. They have their biennials and their auctions and their private gallery shows, which creates a veneer that the country is becoming more liberal. But actually it’s just a cover, because behind all they’re still arresting human rights activists, Islamic extremists and whoever else they want to, and disrespecting human rights. I think we really have to watch out today for governments that use art in that way, as a sort of political camouflage to disguise what’s really going on.

　最後のI think we really have to watch out today for governments that use art in that way, as a sort of political camouflage to disguise what’s really going on.（でも裏で人権活動家を逮捕するなど、人権侵害を行っています。美術を政治的カモフラージュにしている政府を注視する必要があります。）のコメントは重い。

　インタビュー映像に日本語の字幕もつけたので、ご確認いただきたい。

　わたしの話す英語は絶望的に下手ですが、こうしてロンドンの著者にオンライン・インタビューして原書には収録できなかったことも翻訳書に盛り込める時代がくるとは夢にも思っていませんでした。

　現代のテクノロジーにひたすら感謝します。