The nude photographs of Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton that were illegally obtained by a hacker last weekend will be put on display during an art exhibit at The Cory Allen Contemporary Art Showroom in Florida next month.
Cory Allen, who owns the gallery, told FOX411 that the pictures are “art” and will join another exhibit pertaining to privacy, or lack thereof, in modern society.
Los Angeles artist XVALA plans to file them under his collection titled “No Delete.” He is being criticized for exploiting the stolen images by featuring them in a public space.
“He’s [the artist] not trying to exploit anything. He’s basically just mirroring who we are today. I think if he was really concerned and too worried about the legality side of it, it would challenge the integrity of the art,” Allen said.
Representatives for Upton and Lawrence have made it clear that they plan to take legal action against anyone who contributes to the risqué photo sharing.
“We intend to pursue anyone disseminating or duplicating these illegally obtained images to the fullest extent possible,” Upton’s publicist threatened.
XVALA has a reputation for exposing celebrities in vulnerable and compromising positions. He has reportedly been building a collection of Google images for two years.
In 2007, he shared an image of Britney Spears’ head-shaving meltdown at an art gallery.
Four years later, he posted Scarlett Johansson’s stolen-naked photos around Los Angeles with “Fear Google” covering parts of her body.
The exhibit does not condone privacy invasion, but the artist just wants to make a statement.
“We’re not sharing the photos; we’re not posting them; we’re not trying to promote that aspect of it. He is creating the artwork from these images,” Alan said in his defense.
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