Czech EU art stokes controversy

BBC News Webpage ^ | January 14, 2009 | BBC News

[lump in the melting pot]

A new art installation going on display at the European Council building in Brussels has angered EU members with its lampoons of national stereotypes.

Entropa portrays Bulgaria as a toilet, Romania as a Dracula theme-park and France as a country on strike.

The Czech Republic, which holds the EU presidency, thought it had commissioned work from 27 European artists.

But it turned out to have been entirely completed by Czech artist David Cerny and two associates.

[lump in the melting pot]

EU gets punk'd. This guy makes me proud to be Czech, even though he's probably a lefty

[Red Badger]

Entropa portrays Bulgaria as a toilet, Romania as a Dracula theme-park and France as a country on strike.

LOL!!!!...Every stereotype has a basis in truth somewhere...............

[B.O. Plenty]

more evidence that truth hurts

[Red Badger]

The Netherlands is shown as series of minarets submerged by a flood - a possible reference to the nation's simmering religious tensions.

Germany is shown as a network of motorways vaguely resembling a swastika,

the UK - criticised by some for being one of EU's most eurosceptic members - is absent from Europe altogether.

What country is this and are these shoes?...........

[Red Badger]

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

As my friend Deek is often heard to say, “Doc, Art today could be a booger with a hair in it!”

[Darksheare]

“Art” world got punk’d as well.
(Reminds me of MTV’s show “Buzzkill” from ‘way back.’)

[Tax-chick]

LOL! Not being a taxpayer in Europe, I think this is really funny. Vaclav Klaus rocks, too!

[Reaganesque]

I guess the artist didn't get the memo that art is defined as anything that offends Christianity. "Yeah, I'll go ahead and send you another copy of that memo, mmmKay? So, next time if you could stick to the agenda that would be greeeeeaaat!" /Office Space flashback

[posterchild]

I believe those are the stepping locations for a pit style toilet - one where you place your feet in a specific location and squat down over a small hole in the floor.

[neb52]

Bulgaria.

[lump in the melting pot]

The real tweak to Bulgaria is that it's supposed to be a so-called Turkish-style toilet. This really rubs their nose in it, so to speak, given the history of Bulgaria & the Ottoman Empire...

[lump in the melting pot]

The Beeb article doesn’t mention it, but apparently the Czech Republic entry features an LED marquee which scrolls some of Czech Pres. Vaclav Klaus’ more provocative quotes. Being that he’s a renown Euroskeptic and global warming hoax de-bunker, it has real entertainment potential...

[neb52]

Ha! I didn’t think of that.

[MathDoc]

I love it!

[tvdog12345]

Some of the entries:

Austria: a nuclear power plant
Belgium: a box of chocolates
Bulgaria: a toilet
Cyprus: split in two
Czech Republic: LED scrolling Vaclav Klaus quotes
Denmark: made of Legos
Finland: a sauna
France: on strike
Germany: tied together with roads
Greece: on fire
Ireland: bagpipes
Italy: a soccer field
Lithuania: troops massing on Russian border
Luxembourg: for sale
Malta: tiny elephant
Netherlands: minarets rising out of seawater
Poland: priests raising rainbow flag
Portugal: pieces of meat
Romania: Dracula theme park
Slovakia: a cheese
Slovenia: “first tourists came here in 1213”
Spain: concrete apartment block
Sweden: a package from Ikea
United Kingdom: missing

Some of them I can’t tell what they’re supposed to be.

[lump in the melting pot]

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