Alway interested in how politics and art get along (or not), I was delighted to read a story in Saturday’s New York Times about Czech artist David Cerny, who does not play nicely with politicians. The descriptions of his often scatalogical work set me laughing, although not everyone is laughing. The article is a good read!
Past the lead paragraph, rich in its own way, the article discussed Cerny’s multi-sculpture installation full of assholes and other physical unpleasantries, displayed at the European Council headquarters in Brussels. Prague had commissioned Cerny to organize the show in honor of the EU Czech leader, stepping down, and in honor of the countries of the union. Cerny didn’t just organize. He made it all, creating a cover of fictional, internet-based personas–supposedly the sculptors of the pieces.
I can imagine a lot of contemporary artists wishing they had the guts to pull this off, but my guess is, if the Czech Republic called, they’d play nicely.
The Times article said Cerny showed in Philadelphia, and his resume shows he was at the ICA in 1996. I figure the exhibit was Beyond Belief: Contemporary Art from East Central Europe.
