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Why the fuss?
An art exhibit in the lobby of the European Council building in Brussels, sponsored by the Czech Presidency of the European Union, has triggered a heated debate about how EU member states see each other.
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The Czech presidency of the European Union on Wednesday removed from its website a brochure with a detailed description of its controversial art exhibit "Entropa" in Brussels, after the artist who coordinated it said he duped the Czech government. The art exhibit was due to be opened officially on Thursday.
David Cerny told Czech media he made up the names of the artists who made individual national pieces of the artwork, and said he made the entire piece together with two friends.
The 8-ton art exhibit was posted into the atrium of the European Council’s building on Monday and already has triggered a major wave of controversy. Bulgaria has been portrayed as a Turkish toilet, causing the Bulgarian government to summon the Czech ambassador. The German highways are shaped almost as a swastika, while the lego motive used to depict Denmark clearly shows the controversial cartoon of Mohammed made by Kurt Westergaard.
This raises the question about tolerance: A) Is it dominant in modern society? or B) Is there still a very long way to go until such crazy ideas start to be met with a smile or a raise of the brows, instead of diplomatic rows and false drama, and serious people playing insulted kids? First of all, making up fake facts and names has long been part of the Czech humor, and anyone who fails to acknowledge this, risks looking like an ass. And then, just look at the segments for each country. He displayed some sensitive truths and waved them right into the face of the public, and everyone instantly jumped at him, under the pretext that he hurt their feelings. How convenient.
There are much more serious issues than a heap of iron they call modern art. So I really cannot understand people making such a fuss about it. This incident is symptomatic, though. Of the two options I listed above, I'm prone to pick up the latter: there's still a long way to go. After all, the sooner we learn to make fun of ourselves, the better.
(Wanna comment? x-posted here)
[Error: unknown template video]
The Czech presidency of the European Union on Wednesday removed from its website a brochure with a detailed description of its controversial art exhibit "Entropa" in Brussels, after the artist who coordinated it said he duped the Czech government. The art exhibit was due to be opened officially on Thursday.
David Cerny told Czech media he made up the names of the artists who made individual national pieces of the artwork, and said he made the entire piece together with two friends.
The 8-ton art exhibit was posted into the atrium of the European Council’s building on Monday and already has triggered a major wave of controversy. Bulgaria has been portrayed as a Turkish toilet, causing the Bulgarian government to summon the Czech ambassador. The German highways are shaped almost as a swastika, while the lego motive used to depict Denmark clearly shows the controversial cartoon of Mohammed made by Kurt Westergaard.
This raises the question about tolerance: A) Is it dominant in modern society? or B) Is there still a very long way to go until such crazy ideas start to be met with a smile or a raise of the brows, instead of diplomatic rows and false drama, and serious people playing insulted kids? First of all, making up fake facts and names has long been part of the Czech humor, and anyone who fails to acknowledge this, risks looking like an ass. And then, just look at the segments for each country. He displayed some sensitive truths and waved them right into the face of the public, and everyone instantly jumped at him, under the pretext that he hurt their feelings. How convenient.
There are much more serious issues than a heap of iron they call modern art. So I really cannot understand people making such a fuss about it. This incident is symptomatic, though. Of the two options I listed above, I'm prone to pick up the latter: there's still a long way to go. After all, the sooner we learn to make fun of ourselves, the better.
(Wanna comment? x-posted here)