sculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
by
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
*Czech, ...
artist
David Černý
David Černý (born 15 December 1967) is a Czech sculptor. His works can be mainly seen in many locations in Prague.
Early life
Černý was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia. From 1988 to 1994 he studied at the Kurt Gebauer Studio at the Academy ...
. The project was commissioned by the Czech government to mark the occasion of its
presidency of the Council of the European Union
The presidency of the Council of the European Union is responsible for the functioning of the Council of the European Union, which is the co-legislator of the EU legislature alongside the European Parliament. It rotates among the member state ...
, and was originally designed as a collaboration for 27 artists and artist groups from all member countries of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
. However, as a
hoax
A hoax is a widely publicized falsehood so fashioned as to invite reflexive, unthinking acceptance by the greatest number of people of the most varied social identities and of the highest possible social pretensions to gull its victims into pu ...
, Černý and three of his assistants created a
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
and controversial piece that depicted pointed stereotypes of the EU member nations. Fake artist profiles were also created by Černý and his accomplices, complete with invented descriptions of their supposed contributions.
The sculpture was unveiled informally on 12 January 2009, followed by its official media launch date three days later. The sculpture was originally on display in the
Justus Lipsius building
The Justus Lipsius building, located in Brussels, Belgium, was the headquarters of the Council of the European Union from 1995, and the ''de facto'' home of the European Council from 2002 (''de jure'' as of 2004), until their relocation to the a ...
in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. Between September 2010 and March 2012, the sculpture was on exhibit at the
Techmania Science Center
Techmania Science Center is one of the first science centers in the Czech Republic and an important institution of informal education. The project was established in 2005 by the Škoda Transportation joint-stock company and the University of ...
in
Plzeň
Plzeň (; German and English: Pilsen, in German ) is a city in the Czech Republic. About west of Prague in western Bohemia, it is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 169,000 inhabita ...
. A copy of the sculpture has also been planned for the Nová Scéna cafe in the National Theatre in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
.
Background
The
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...
adheres to a rotational presidency system, whereby the governments of member countries exchange leadership every six months. It is customary for the presiding country to place an exhibit in the Justus Lipsius building, with past works avoiding
controversy
Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...
. For example, France, which had held the presidency before the Czech Republic, simply erected a large balloon in the French national colours in honor of the tradition.
Theme
''Entropa'' is an ironic jab at the issue of
European integration
European integration is the process of industrial, economic integration, economic, political, legal, social integration, social, and cultural Regional integration, integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integrat ...
and the stereotypes associated with each country within the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
. It is subtitled '"Stereotypes are barriers to be demolished", along with the Czech European Union Presidency's motto of "Europe without barriers". According to David Černý, the sculpture's primary artist, ''Entropa'' "lampoons the socially activist art that balances on the verge between would-be controversial attacks on national character and undisturbing decoration of an official space". In an interview with ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', Černý stated that the sculpture was influenced by the
Monty Python
Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...
brand of humour. At the launch ceremony, he added
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is an English actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral ...
and ''
Les Guignols de l'info
''Les Guignols'' (, ''The Puppets''), formerly ''Les Guignols de l'info'' (, ''The News Puppets''), was a daily satirical latex puppet show broadcast on the French television channel Canal+. It was created in 1988, inspired by '' Le Bébête Sho ...
''s portrayal of
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012.
Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
as other influences.
The work is made of
glass-reinforced plastic
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...
and the joints of
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
. It covers approximately , measuring high and wide. Three-quarters of the weight comes from the frame, making up a combined total of 8 tonnes. It resembles the parts of a
model kit
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure.
Models c ...
, containing pieces in the shapes of the 27 member states of the EU. Each piece has a distinctive theme that portrays stereotypes about the country, some of which are portrayed in a particularly provocative manner. Among the pieces which have attracted the most attention are those of Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Poland and Slovakia.
The sculpture was installed between 5 and 11 January 2009 in the presence of David Černý, three assistants, four climbers, two technicians, two cameramen and a representative of the Czech Permanent Representation to the EU.
Nations included in the sculpture
With no clear indication made by the artist nor by the official presentation, various interpretations of a single country can be drawn, and this list is by no means definite. Some of the physical pieces differ slightly from the form presented in the official booklet:
* Austria, a known opponent of atomic energy, is depicted as a green field dominated by nuclear power plant
cooling tower
A cooling tower is a device that rejects waste heat to the atmosphere through the cooling of a coolant stream, usually a water stream to a lower temperature. Cooling towers may either use the evaporation of water to remove process heat and ...
s with vapour coming out of them at intervals.
* Belgium is presented as a box of half-eaten Praline chocolates with the pattern of Brussels waffles.
*
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
is depicted by a series of connected "Turkish"
squat toilet
A squat toilet (or squatting toilet) is a toilet used by squatting, rather than sitting. This means that the defecation posture used is to place one foot on each side of the toilet drain or hole and to squat over it. There are several types of sq ...
s with neon lights connecting and illuminating them. This piece of the sculpture was later hidden with fabric.
*
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
is cut in half.
*
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
's own piece is an
LED display
A LED display is a flat panel display that uses an array of light-emitting diodes as pixels for a video display. Their brightness allows them to be used outdoors where they are visible in the sun for store signs and billboards. In recent y ...
, which flashes controversial quotations by Czech President
Václav Klaus
Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he served as the secon ...
.
* Denmark is depicted as being built out of
Lego
Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocking ...
bricks, and some claim to see in the depiction a face reminiscent of the cartoon controversy, though the resemblance has been denied by Černý.
*
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
is presented with power tools resembling a
hammer and sickle
The hammer and sickle (Unicode: "☭") zh, s=锤子和镰刀, p=Chuízi hé liándāo or zh, s=镰刀锤子, p=Liándāo chuízi, labels=no is a symbol meant to represent proletarian solidarity, a union between agricultural and industri ...
, citing the country's consideration of a ban on Communist symbols.
* Finland is depicted as a wooden floor including a male with a rifle lying down, imagining an
elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...
, a
hippo
The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant ...
and a
crocodile
Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...
.
* France is draped in a "" ("
STRIKE
Strike may refer to:
People
*Strike (surname)
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
*Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
!") banner.
* Germany is a series of interlocking
autobahn
The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...
s with cars moving about on them, described as "somewhat resembling a
swastika
The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...
", though the statement is not universally accepted. Some Czech military historians also suggest that the autobahns resemble the number "18", which some
Neo-nazi
Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
groups use as code for A.H., the initials of
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
.
* Greece is depicted as a forest that has been entirely burned, possibly representing the
2007 Greek forest fires
The 2007 Greek forest fires were a series of massive forest fires that broke out in several areas across Greece throughout the summer of 2007. The most destructive and lethal infernos broke out on 23 August, expanded rapidly and raged out of con ...
or the
2008 civil unrest in Greece
The 2008 Greek riots started on 6 December 2008, when Alexandros Grigoropoulos ( el, Αλέξανδρος Γρηγορόπουλος), a 15-year-old Greek student, was killed by a special officer in Exarcheia district of central Athens. The kill ...
.
* Hungary features an
Atomium
The Atomium ( , , ) is a landmark building in Brussels, Belgium, originally constructed for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (Expo '58). It is located on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Laeken (northern part of the City of Brussels), where the exh ...
consisting of watermelons and
Hungarian sausages
Hungarian sausages are sausages found in the cuisine of Hungary. Hungary produces a vast number of sui sausage types. They may be boiled, fresh or dried, and smoked, with different spices and flavors, "hot" or "mild". Many were influenced by ...
, based on a floor of
peppers
Pepper or peppers may refer to:
Food and spice
* Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant
** Black pepper
* ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae
** Bell pepper
** Chili ...
.
*
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
is depicted as a brown bog with
bagpipes
Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, No ...
protruding from
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. The bagpipes also play music in five-minute intervals.
* Italy is depicted as a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
pitch with several players who appear to be
masturbating
Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combination ...
, possibly indicating what some see as the country's "fetish for football".
*
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
is shown as covered with mountains, in contrast to its actual flat landscape.
*
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
includes a series of dressed ''
Manneken Pis
''Manneken Pis'' (; ) is a landmark bronze fountain sculpture in central Brussels, Belgium, depicting a puer mingens; a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin. Though its existence is attested as early as the 15th century, it wa ...
''-style figures urinating, with the streams of urine being illuminated by yellow glass fibres.
*
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
is displayed as a gold nugget with a "For Sale" sign.
*
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
is depicted as a tiny island with a prehistoric
dwarf elephant
Dwarf elephants are prehistoric members of the order Proboscidea which, through the process of allopatric speciation on islands, evolved much smaller body sizes (around ) in comparison with their immediate ancestors. Dwarf elephants are an example ...
, as well as a magnifying glass in front of the elephant.
* The Netherlands is depicted as having disappeared under the sea with only several
minaret
A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گلدسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...
s still visible.
* Poland has a piece with priests erecting the
rainbow flag
A rainbow flag is a multicolored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The designs differ, but many of the colors are based on the spectral colors of the visible light spectrum.
The LGBT flag introduced in 1978 is the most recognized u ...
of the
gay rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, , 3 ...
movement on a field of potatoes in the style of the famous photograph '' Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima''.
* Portugal is shown as a wooden
cutting board
A cutting board (or chopping board) is a durable board on which to place material for cutting. The kitchen cutting board is commonly used in preparing food; other types exist for cutting raw materials such as leather or plastic. Kitchen cutting b ...
with three pieces of meat in the shape of its former colonies of
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
.
*
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
is a
Dracula
''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...
-style theme park, which is set up to blink and emit ghostly sounds at intervals.
*
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
is depicted as a Hungarian sausage (or a human body wrapped in Hungarian tricolor) being strangled by a string.
*
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
is shown as a rock engraved with the words "First Tourists Came Here, 1213".
* Spain is covered entirely in
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
, with a
concrete mixer
A concrete mixer (often colloquially called a cement mixer) is a device that homogeneously combines cement, aggregate such as sand or gravel, and water to form concrete. A typical concrete mixer uses a revolving drum to mix the components. F ...
situated in the north-east.
* Sweden, unlike the other pieces in the sculpture, does not have an outline, but is instead represented as a large
IKEA
IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...
-style self-assembly furniture box containing
Gripen
The Saab JAS 39 Gripen (; English: ''griffin'') is a light single-engine multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace and defense company Saab AB. The Gripen has a delta wing and canard configuration with relaxed stabilit ...
fighter planes (as supplied to the
Czech Air Force
"The air is our sea"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries =
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles =
, decorations =
, battle_honours =
, battle_honours_label =
, flying_hours =
, websi ...
).
* The United Kingdom, known for its
Euroscepticism
Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek reform ...
and relative isolation from Europe, is "included" as a missing piece (an empty space) at the top-left of the sculpture.
Reaction
''Entropa'' has inspired debate in Europe since the day of its first unveiling. Various commentators have noted that this is probably the first such exhibition in the history of art displays on behalf of the rotary Presidency of the EU Council that has been controversial in nature, contrasted by the fact that such pieces usually go by unnoticed. The work drew what has been described by one reporter as "a never-before-seen crowd." It has been praised by some viewers for being "hilarious" and for inspiring discussion about art, but has angered and offended others.
In June 2009, David Černý himself said that he expected completely different reactions than those described below. In his opinion, Bulgaria doesn't even make it to the top three of the most provocative countries caricatured by ''Entropa''. The most provocative country is Poland, with the reference to gays. It is followed by the UK (missing) and Slovakia that, according to Mr Černý, is a bubble restricted by Hungary.
Political controversy
On 13 January 2009, the day after the exhibit was informally unveiled,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
's ambassador to the EU registered the country's protest with the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
, and sent a formal protest note to the Czech government. Bulgaria's depiction in the sculpture, as a series of
squat toilet
A squat toilet (or squatting toilet) is a toilet used by squatting, rather than sitting. This means that the defecation posture used is to place one foot on each side of the toilet drain or hole and to squat over it. There are several types of sq ...
s, is one of the most provocative, and after the informal unveiling of ''Entropa'', the Bulgarian government demanded that the sculpture be taken down before its official launching. This action was never taken, but after continuing complaints, the Bulgarian depiction was covered with black fabric on 20 January 2009. Individuals outside the government, as well, expressed outrage about the portrayal:
Bulgarian news portal News.bg commented that the country's deputy was "obviously interpreting he exhibit'sidea as an insult attempt." A number of non-government organizations, including Polish Indeks 73, were opposed to covering part of the work and initiated online petitions.
Jan Vytopil, the man in charge of cultural events during the Czech EU Presidency, has defended the exhibit, arguing that the presence of a "squat toilet Bulgaria" in the presence of the other patently absurd depictions made it clear that the piece seeks to demolish stereotypes rather than cause controversy. Czech Deputy Prime Minister
Alexandr Vondra
Alexandr Vondra (; born 17 August 1961) is a Czech politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic from 2010 to 2012 under Prime Minister Petr Nečas and has been Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2019. ...
also frequently stressed that the government committee which authorized the piece wanted to avoid
censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
:
On 14 January 2009, the
Slovak National Party
The Slovak National Party ( sk, Slovenská národná strana, SNS) is a nationalist political party in Slovakia. The party characterizes itself as a nationalist party based on both social and the European Christian values.
Since 1990 SNS has won ...
called on Foreign Affairs Minister
Ján Kubiš
Ján Kubiš (born 12 November 1952) is a Slovak diplomat and former Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was appointed as United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon in 2019 by the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, and as head ...
to demand the removal of the sculpture, calling it an offence to the Slovak nation. On 15 January 2009, Kubiš complied and lodged a formal protest, but did not demand the removal of the sculpture.
Given the controversial nature of the portrayals of other countries, Czech diplomats expected protests from other countries as well. However, these had yet to materialize. In fact, the public in Poland appeared to be largely in favour of Poland's portrayal, with 64% considering it "spot on" and only 13% thinking it "an insult to Polish people", according to an online poll by news portal
TVN24
TVN24 is a Polish 24-hour commercial news channel, launched on 9 August 2001. Being a part of the TVN Network, TVN24 has been owned since July 2017 by US-based media company Warner Bros. Discovery. It gained broader popularity after the Septem ...
.
Ole Molesby, the Danish Ambassador to the Czech Republic, stated that he did not expect the Mohammed caricature protests to begin anew, and that Denmark did not intend to complain. Černý denied that the similarity was intentional.
Authorship controversy
On 13 January 2009, the authorship of ''Entropa'' came into question. Officially, the artwork was to have been an international collaboration between David Černý and artists from the other 26 EU countries. However, on that day, Alexandr Vondra announced the work was probably created by a smaller group of people, explaining that Černý did not inform him about this until the evening before. The original news article in ''
Lidové noviny
''Lidové noviny'' (''People's News'', or ''The People's Newspaper'', ) is a daily newspaper published in Prague, the Czech Republic. It is the oldest Czech daily still in print, and a newspaper of record. Černý himself admitted on 13 January that the artists' names had been fabricated.
The official booklet provided summaries of past expositions for most of the alleged authors, some of which matched those of known artists. For example, Austria's "Sabrina Unterberger" had a résumé that apparently belonged to Ernst Logar. Many of these "artists" had their own websites (designed by Tomáš Pospiszyl,
Krištof Kintera
Krištof Kintera (born 20 September 1973 in Prague) is a Czech artist and sculptor. He was nominated for the Jindřich Chalupecký Award three times. He was one of the co-creators of the ''Entropa'' sculpture, which was displayed in Brussels as pa ...
and Libor Svoboda), but the contact information listed was false (other than the e-mail addresses, which were functional).
''Lidové noviny'' originally listed Belgium, Germany, Greece, Ireland, and the UK as countries for which fictitious artists' identities were given. These specific claims were later retracted and replaced by general charges that some of the names in the booklet are non-existent, their résumés erroneous, or that the artists denied knowing David Černý or having cooperated with him.
On the evening of 13 January 2009, Černý officially admitted that the piece was actually created entirely by him and two friends, and that all the officially supplied artists' identities had been fabricated. In a prepared statement, Černý offered an apology to
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Mirek Topolánek
Mirek Topolánek (, born 15 May 1956) is a Czech politician and business manager who served as the prime minister of the Czech Republic from 2006 to 2009 and the leader of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) from 2002 to 2010. Between 2006 and 2 ...
Karel Schwarzenberg
Prince Karel of Schwarzenberg (, born 10 December 1937) is a Czech politician, former leader of the TOP 09 party and was its candidate for president of the Czech Republic in the 2013 election. He served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies (MP ...
"and their offices" for deceiving them, stating he did not want them to be responsible for his fabulations. The statement went on to point out: "We knew the truth would come out. But before that we wanted to find out if Europe is able to laugh at itself."
The names of Černý's collaborators were given as Tomáš Pospiszyl and Krištof Kintera. The authors maintained that a larger international team of people was involved in the project's execution. They explained that they originally wanted to contact artists from all 27 member countries of the EU, but failed due to limited time and financing. Alexandr Vondra responded with an official statement expressing his disappointment and stressed that Černý would bear responsibility for deceiving the government.
Due to the sculpture's potential for controversy, the point that each country's piece was designed by an artist from that country was strongly stressed by the Czech government. According to
Lidové noviny
''Lidové noviny'' (''People's News'', or ''The People's Newspaper'', ) is a daily newspaper published in Prague, the Czech Republic. It is the oldest Czech daily still in print, and a newspaper of record. Vondra attempted to distance the Czech government from Černý's work early on, saying,
It is a piece of art—nothing else... If Europe is not strong enough to look at this, it would be a tragedy. It is Europe through the eyes of 27 artists. It is not Europe through the eyes of the Czech presidency.
Fraud accusation
The sculpture reportedly cost 12 million
CZK
The koruna, or crown, ( sign: Kč; code: CZK, cs, koruna česká) has been the currency of the Czech Republic since 1993. The koruna is one of the European Union's 9 currencies, and the Czech Republic is legally bound to adopt the euro curre ...
to make, of which 10 million was contributed by
New World Resources
New World Resources Plc ('NWR') was one of Central Europe's hard coal and coke producer. The Company produced coking and thermal coal for the steel and energy sectors in Central Europe through its subsidiary OKD, a.s. ( cs, Ostravsko-karvinské d ...
, a
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
mining company which owns OKD in the Czech Republic, and 2 million CZK was paid by the Czech government, which has subsequently leased the work for an additional 1.2 million CZK until the end of June. After the fabrication came to light, Černý was accused of misappropriating state funds. He responded that the money was not used at all, since the artists knew they would deviate from the stated project, and would be returned.
Response by authors
Černý originally stated that he meant for the sculpture to be amusing, saying, "Irony is about making fun. It is not meant to offend anybody", and later issuing an official statement saying, "We wanted to see if Europe is able to laugh at itself." On 15 January, Černý reflected on the hostile reception of ''Entropa'':
I certainly don't feel like a winner. That's how I'd feel if there were a few shocked Brusselian bureaucrats walking around the piece, shaking their heads, thinking about what those Czechs have done here. We expected this to be treated as a joke, a
happening
A happening is a performance, event, or situation art, usually as performance art. The term was first used by Allan Kaprow during the 1950s to describe a range of art-related events.
History
Origins
Allan Kaprow first coined the term "happen ...
, a nice installation, nothing else. That we are already discussing the removal of some parts doesn't seem like a tremendous success to me. I'd be much happier if it remained whole.
The authors defended their choice to use false names in creating the sculpture by stating the deception was part of the art:
Grotesque exaggeration and mystification is a hallmark of Czech culture, and creating false identities is one of the strategies of
contemporary art
Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...
.
Černý has also said that making this sculpture in this way was "more fun." Later, however, the artists apologized for the deception, saying, "We apologize to Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek, Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra, Minister Karel Schwarzenberg and their offices for not informing them about the true state of things and thus deceiving them." Krištof Kintera, one of the true co-authors of the sculpture, said in an interview that the mystification was supposed to last longer, but that it was untenable—both ethically, as the artists didn't want to cause more trouble for Czech diplomacy, and practically, as they couldn't keep answering e-mails using the fabricated artists' identities.
Kintera also commented that the sculpture revealed a divide between
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
and
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
: "We didn't want to defame anyone; advanced European democracies are used to many things, but the East still strives to promote itself in a positive light, so it's not as well attuned to this."
Fate of the sculpture
After the true authorship of the sculpture came to light, Alexandr Vondra stated its continued display was under review because Černý had violated the government's specifications of the project, which, in line with Černý's original description, called for an international collaboration of artists. On 14 January 2009, the official ''Entropa'' presentation page was withdrawn from the Czech presidency's website. Nevertheless, the sculpture was ceremonially launched on 15 January 2009. Alexandr Vondra again defended the piece, saying, "we consider ''Entropa'' to be art, nothing more and nothing else."
During the ceremony, David Černý again apologized to the Czech government and expressed regret that the sculpture was considered offensive. He said the offending pieces would be removed if officials cannot be persuaded about the authors' intentions.
Removal
On 23 April 2009, Černý's intention to remove the sculpture prematurely on 10 May was published, which he presented as a protest against the way in which Topolánek's government had been deposed and against the prepared Fischer's cabinet, which was eventually installed on 8 May.
The removal of the sculpture began on 11 May. Černý himself was not present, although he had earlier suggested the contrary. A crew he sent there dismantled the sculpture and on Thursday, 14 May loaded its parts into three trucks, which had to come one by one because of limitations of the Justus Lipsius building. Afterwards, the pieces were transported by road to Prague.
The sculpture was set up again in the Centre of Contemporary Art DOX in Prague-
Holešovice
Holešovice () is a district in the north of Prague situated on a meander of the River Vltava, which makes up the main part of the district Prague 7 (an insignificant part belongs to Prague 1). In the past it was a heavily industrial suburb; ...
and inaugurated on 11 June 2009, in presence of guests, including former Czech president
Václav Havel
Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then as ...
.
''Entropa'' was on display in the
Techmania Science Center
Techmania Science Center is one of the first science centers in the Czech Republic and an important institution of informal education. The project was established in 2005 by the Škoda Transportation joint-stock company and the University of ...
in
Plzeň
Plzeň (; German and English: Pilsen, in German ) is a city in the Czech Republic. About west of Prague in western Bohemia, it is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 169,000 inhabita ...
Art criticism
Art criticism is the discussion or evaluation of visual art. Art critics usually criticize art in the context of aesthetics or the theory of beauty. A goal of art criticism is the pursuit of a rational basis for art appreciation but it is quest ...
*
Contemporary art
Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...
BBC News Online
BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. It is one of the most popular news websites, with 1.2 billion website visits in April 2021, as well as being used by 60% of the U ...