Candidate Assassination Art Show Busted

June 4, 2008— -- A controversial performance art exhibit titled "The Assassination of Hillary Clinton/The Assassination of Barack Obama," was shut down by police in Midtown Manhattan this morning and the artist was interviewed by police and released without charge.

The Boston-born performance artist, Yazmany Arboleda, set up his exhibition at a vacant storefront and wrote "The Assassination of Hillary Clinton/The Assassination of Barack Obama," in white stenciled letters on the front window.

NYPD officers and Secret Service agents quickly shut down the exhibition.

"Obviously it sounds totally inappropriate," said New York police commissioner Ray Kelly. "We need more information as to what the purpose of it was. As I say, apparently he made some statements that he was referring to their reputations."

Arboleda, who said the exhibit is "art," was taken to the Midtown South police precinct for an interview. The exhibition was to open tomorrow and run all day.

Arboleda's web site says he was born in Boston and lives in New York City.

He holds a master's degree in architecture and has been trained in photography, painting, fashion design and graphic design. His first solo show, "The New Vitruvians," was presented at Issey Miyake Tribeca in 2007.