Cast Cover Even if Queen Elizabeth II is not coming to Quebec City for the city's 400th anniversary, she is still the talk of the town. The work of an artist depicting the Queen sporting caribou antlers has been censored by municipal authorities and the sponsor of the art event related to the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City. The piece of art is a manhole cover called "Tribute To Her Graceful Majesty" by Quebec painter Martin Bureau. It's an openly political work recalling the conquest of Quebec by British troops in 1759. Combining the two faces of the 25 cent Canadian coin, the artist created a new image of the Queen with antlers on her head. The work also reads: "Kwebec 1759-2009. Quarter of a buck." Bureau says the antlers replace the Queen's crown and symbolize a colonization trophy. The provocative cast-iron piece was supposed to be installed on a street last week along with other manhole covers made into art pieces. But the art organization which commissioned the work said the sponsor - foundry Bibby from Sainte-Croix-de-Lotbiniere on the south shore of Quebec City - deemed it too political and refused to cast it. Local officials were also not at ease with the work and refused to install the manhole cover that was finally cast by another foundry at the artist's expense. "It's censorship pure and simple," lamented Celine Marcotte, head of Folie/Culture which commissioned the manhole covers from 10 Quebec artists to commemorate the 400th. "It's interference with artistic freedom and the city officials didn't even do anything to back us up. They said it was disrespectful," Marcotte added. A spokeswoman for the municipality said the work was problematic because the name of the city was directly associated with it.
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