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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Neo-Nazi Swedish muttaween smash Serrano photographs |
| 2007-10-12 |
| Search engine giant Google has blocked access to video footage of four masked men who vandalized the photo exhibition 'A history of sex' at an art gallery in Lund on Friday. Google prevented users of YouTube and Google Video from viewing the video, not for its depiction of a criminal act but because it contained images of a pornographic nature, Sydsvenskan reports. The "pornography" to which Google referred was at the heart of Friday's attack, when a group of people believed to have been neo-Nazis stormed into the Kulturen Gallery and smashed seven of artist Andres Serrano's photographs with crowbars and an axe. The four men, one of whom filmed the incident, made it clear that they disapproved of the sexual content of the exhibition. Before leaving, they distributed flyers bearing the message: "Against decadence and for a healthier culture". By Monday a film entitled Nationalists against degenerate "art" had been uploaded to Google Video. Set against a soundtrack of death metal music, footage of the armed attack was interspersed with samples of Serrano's photographs and slogans questioning whether they could really be classified as art. Soon however Google Video blocked access to the video after the clip flagged by users of the service. It later reappeared on Google's other video platform, YouTube, this time without some of the more explicit images. But the revised version was also "removed due to terms of use violation." Google spokeswoman Maria Göth was reluctant to explain the decision. "We don't actually comment on individual videos," she told The Local. She had however spoken more freely after the film was removed for the second time. "We still think there is too much porn in the film," she told Sydsvenskan. Maria Göth explained to The Local that Google did not remove any material unless requested to do so by its users. "Community members can flag material that they consider inappropriate. Our policy group will then look at the video and make a decision," she said. Speaking about the incident, Andres Serrano could scarcely believe that his work had been vandalized in the quaint old university town of Lund. “I was shocked and horrified,” the artist told the New York Times. “I never expected something like this, especially in this magical town, which is so sweet I joked about it being like something out of Harry Potter.” Curator Viveca Ohlsson said that staff at the gallery were still in shock after Friday's events. "The whole thing is just terrible. I couldn't believe that something like this could happen in Sweden," she told The Local. Half of the fourteen photos on loan from the Paula Cooper Gallery in New York survived the attack and remain on display. "But the part of the exhibition where the pictures were destroyed is now closed," Viveca Ohlsson told The Local. "We would like to open it again but at the moment there is a police investigation underway and there are also insurance issues to be dealt with," she said. Andres Serrano's work has long been shrouded in controversy. His images of corpses, as well as a crucifix dipped in his own urine, are among a number of his works that have provoked fury and physical attacks. 'A history of sex' is no exception. The exhibition includes images of a deeply controversial nature. In one photograph, a naked woman clutches a horse's penis, while others depict people in a series of sexual poses. |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #11 Was she kissing the horse or what ? |
| Posted by: wxjames 2007-10-12 21:15 |
| #10 Neo Nazis use extreme profanity on their websites. That's decadence. |
| Posted by: McZoid 2007-10-12 16:37 |
| #9 I'd disagree if the gallery got state money Bright Pebbles, what if the so-called artiste "got state money"? The NEA continues to show an intolerance of traditional values, in spite of the consistent outrage of the American public. Numerous grants have been awarded over the years to "artists" who do little to disguise their contempt for the religious beliefs of others. Consider Andres Serrano's "Piss Christ" (a photo of a crucifix in a jar of urine) or Joel-Peter Witkin's "Maquette for Crucifix" which portrays a naked Jesus Christ surrounded by sado-masochistic obscene imagery. These portrayals of religion meet the NEA standard; however, one would be hard pressed to find a positive portrayal of religion as it would probably be seen as a violation of the separation of church and state. The NEA also uses its grant money to endorse alternative lifestyles, such as homosexuality. Current NEA chief Jane Alexander vocally defended an NEA-funded performance by Ron Athey in Minneapolis in which the HIV positive Athey sliced into another man's back with a knife and cleaned up the blood with towels which were then sent on clotheslines over the audience. Alexander also recently told a homosexual magazine, The Advocate, that she intended to use the agency to "introduce people gently to gay themes all across the country. And I mean gently, because if you start with a kind of very overt thing, people get scared. You gently bring in gay people and introduce them to the world through art." [emphasis added] In an older article: Serrano is the photographer who touched off a firestorm of controversy with Piss Christ (1988), a large color photograph depicting a small plastic crucifix submerged in the artist's urine. Serrano's Piss Christ raised the ire of numerous religious and secular groups, including the American Family Association, and brought condemnation from U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms. It also heated up the debate over whether the federal government should fund such artwork. Serrano had received in 1988 a $15,000 grant from Awards in the Visual Arts, partially funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. [emphasis added] |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-10-12 13:52 |
| #8 I'ma with Mike on this one. Here's to hopin' they both lose! Two more fitting groups (Nazis and "Progressive Artists") could NOT deserve each other more. And, Zen nails it spot-on. Being different for publicity and attention is NOT art. |
| Posted by: BA 2007-10-12 12:08 |
| #7 No-one forced people to go into the Gallery (I'd disagree if the gallery got state money). I hope the vandals are jailed. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2007-10-12 10:08 |
| #6 JFM, Serrano is also a very hot chili pepper. And, a helluva hitter. Although he does have trouble hitting a curve ball without sacrificing a live chicken to Jobu. |
| Posted by: mcsegeek1 2007-10-12 09:18 |
| #5 Of course, this goon is too much of a moral and physical coward to do to the Koran what he did to a crucifix. |
| Posted by: E. Brown 2007-10-12 09:15 |
| #4 JFM, Serrano is also a very hot chili pepper. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2007-10-12 08:20 |
| #3 Goose-stepping euro-goons versus postmodernist transgressive pseudo-artist. Do I have to pick sides? Can't they both lose? |
| Posted by: Mike 2007-10-12 06:34 |
| #2 I thought it was Muslims since Serrano is name of a variety of Spanish ham. |
| Posted by: JFM 2007-10-12 04:55 |
| #1 Andres Serrano's work has long been shrouded in controversy. His images of corpses, as well as a crucifix dipped in his own urine, are among a number of his works that have provoked fury and physical attacks. You'd think this assclown would get the message. Being controversial for controversy's sake. Being provocative for provocation's sake. Being different for difference's sake. Being sensational for the sake of sensationalism. None of this constitutes the essence of art. It represents an intentionally contrived effort to attract attention by deliberately offending people without the least attempt at providing serious content or the sense of mastery, beauty and skill that real art conveys. I'm amazed that someone hasn't physically assaulted this jerk already. He rates right up there with Tracey Emin of "My Bed" fame. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-10-12 03:29 |