With great fanfare Entropa, a piece of art commissioned by the Czech government to commemorate their stint in the seat of the EU presidency, was unveiled in Brussels and until then it was not discovered that it was a monumental, and hilarious (to me), con. The Czech government commissioned David Cerny to select an artist from each of the 27 European nations to depict their country, then as far as I can tell turned their back on the whole thing. This is a huge mistake when you consider that Cerny is famous for trying to shock people and at the least tries to make everything he does controversial. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, he likes to stick it to the establishment and I think it’s a good thing, however if you are a government wanting a piece that will be politically acceptable and encourage goodwill throughout the world then I can’t think of a more disastrous choice.
I mean, what were they thinking? This is the guy who was arrested for painting the soviet WWII memorial in Prague pink in 1991, who sculpted St. Wenceslas riding a dead horse, and has had his works banned in different parts of Europe for various reasons. Don’t you think you might chose someone else, or at least monitor progress? It’s apparent that the Czech government did nothing of the kind as it would have been apparent to anyone who looked at the official document before the unveiling that something was seriously awry.
I mean, would a Bulgarian who values his/her life have depicted their country as a hole-in-the-floor toilet? Or a Romanian their country as a Dracula amusement park ride? Would any Swedish artist who wanted further employment outside of the food service industry send an Ikea box?
I have one word for the Czech government: OVERSIGHT!
David Cerny is quoted saying that he knew the fraud would be discovered but “wanted to see if Europe could laugh at itself”. Given that the Czech ambassador to Bulgaria has been summoned “for an explanation” I think the answer is no.
Personally, I’m laughing my ass off and I hope it comes to town.