Raffaele Ciotola was born in Miano near Naples, October 17th, 1964. He obtains the Maestro d'Arte Diploma in 1981 from the Palizzi Institute in Naples, and a second Diploma in Art, in 1983. He is not only a painter but also an opera singer, a musician and actor.His first collective exhibition takes place in Naples, followed by others all over Italy. He is awarded many prizes including a gold medal for the work exhibited at the Palazzo la Triade exhibition in 1980 in Milano. The artist continues to create art works to date,which reflect in depth his sensibility for cultural values and contemporary issues in general.
'' THE MADONNA OF THE HOMOSEXUALS ''
THE ARTIST RAFFAELE CIOTOLA
IN MEMORY OF THE HOMOSEXUAL VICTIMS MURDERED BY THE NAZIS
The main character of my work is Mary, whom I portrayed not as a religious figure, but as the timeless historical mother symbolizing immense love - the kind that accepts, protects and supports every single human being unconditionally and without distinction. The Madonna not only embraces in a single gesture Jesus the Child, but all humankind, represented by the terrestial globe she holds in her hand. Her loving gaze is not only directed at her Son but also embraces all those sons who are homosexuals, represented by gay male and female symbols which the child Jesus clasps in his hand.In order to bind even more closely the madonna to her homosexual children, I chose the same heraldic symbols above her head using the colours of the Gay flag and two bouquets. Those very flowers have two meanings:the one means happiness for homosexual unions whilst the other is in remembrance of all those homosexual victims who tragically and unjustly met their death. I mean all the victims who are officially registered in the documents but have been forgotten for too long. The nazi victims especially, who suffered discrimination and fear of gender difference caused by ignorance and the fact that homosexuality is a condition and not a choice. Society has ignored for too long who the "pink triangles" were and it seems that the gay community has also forgotten today. With this work, I would like to awaken the memory of so much suffering and also stir the consciences of all concerned by offering this token of remembrance through the holy Lady which I have portrayed. I am convinced that no other than she could express the suffering of all those families who lost their sons only because they happened to be 'different'. Many things are slowly changing today in many countries . The GLBT community is gradually becoming more and more respected thereby restoring the hopes and dreams denied so cruelly to the homosexual victims of Nazism. In my simbolic portrayal, Mary is the mother of humankind, oblivious to differences, dispensing her Love to all.
The pictures of the Madonna of the Homosexuals and of the painter Raffaele Ciotola may be used only for the purposes of spreading the ethical and spiritual values expressed above and in no other way.
