The Czechs are not PC/have a sense of humour...[merged]

Thirdfox

from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7827738.stm

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.

The eight-tonne mosaic is held together by snap-out plastic parts similar to those used in modelling kits.

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

Fair deuce to the 3 artists or another extravagant waste of EU money? Maybe both?

I wonder what Ireland was portrayed as? Leprechauns or fighting drunkards?

Senna

Thirdfox wrote: »

I wonder what Ireland was portrayed as? Leprechauns or fighting drunkards?

If he was smart, it would be the turd in the corner.

Thirdfox

Beside Bulgaria?

phelixoflaherty

A knobbly shaped spud with blight

Ponster

Thirdfox wrote: »

I wonder what Ireland was portrayed as? Leprechauns or fighting drunkards?

In today’s unifying Europe, there is something like a need for inner
ethnic exoticism and the marketing of a distant, idealized Ireland. Th e
stereotypes associated with the Irish and Ireland are used as one of the
decorations of the entertainment industry.






All countries can be found here (5Mb pdf)

Nodin

I'm dissapointed in the Irish one. I was expecting some mixture of spuds, drink, fighting and brown paper envelopes being handed over in a sly manner.

the_syco

He added that 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".

Mr Cerny first created a splash in the early 1990s when he painted a Soviet tank, a Second World War memorial in a Prague square, bright pink.

LOL. Mad bas*ard!

See them all here [PDF, 5.7MB].

Das Kitty

Why does everyone outside of Ireland think that bagpipes are Irish?

Shiny

Yeah, Irish one is crap, not even offensive ffs. :mad:

antodeco

Das Kitty wrote: »

Why does everyone outside of Ireland think that bagpipes are Irish?

Have you seen Mary Harney?

Das Kitty

antodeco wrote: »

Have you seen Mary Harney?

She's just a bag tbh.

Berty

Das Kitty wrote: »

Why does everyone outside of Ireland think that bagpipes are Irish?

Because they are. They are celtic and Scots are celtic to originally the bagpipes were used in Ireland when the country was called Hibernia.

mp3guy

Germany doesn't even barely resemble a Swastika, what was that reporter smoking

2tel1

Did you read the UK text. Jesus, they should have been banned straight off for that. Absolute drivel. Seriously, any one can use a thesaurus to write mumbojumbo. It's just complicated for the sake of being complicated. Pathetic

If art and associated attitudes
are not to become pleasing-appearance
ready-made goods, but a living,
albeit perhaps fleeting, organism, art
should be able to improve exactness
of its message in the time allotted
to it and thus, paradoxically, define
itself in history. This improvement
of exactness means that its individual,
selectivesieve can cover the so-called
objective sieve. Where their nodes
do not coincide, ‘free space‘ opens.
Energy of the free space is proportional
to the power of sharing, or, more
precisely, it is the sum of the freely
pulsating words which, in this context
and in each specific time, is able to
define (tangle up) different meanings
naturally through spontaneous intuition.
These screen points are spatial
holograms of historical memory, experience,
and therefore each such new
overlap becomes another non-linear
tangle to the naked eye.

:rolleyes:

2tel1

Das Kitty wrote: »

Why does everyone outside of Ireland think that bagpipes are Irish?

Probably because they are

Mark200

Yeah I didn't see any Swastika there.


I liked the Swedish one. A flat cardboard box representing IKEA haha

Dragan

Das Kitty wrote: »

Why does everyone outside of Ireland think that bagpipes are Irish?

Why does everyone assume they are Scottish when they actually originated in the Roman Empire?

elpresdentde

bbc news

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.

The eight-tonne mosaic is held together by snap-out plastic parts similar to those used in modelling kits.

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

Raised eyebrows

The 16-square-metre (172-square-foot) work was installed at the weekend to mark the start of the six-month Czech presidency of the EU.

There has already been an angry reaction to the piece from Bulgaria, which has summoned the Czech ambassador to Sofia to explain.

The three artists responsible for Entropa were led by David Cerny who, says the BBC's Rob Cameron in Prague, is the enfant terrible of the Czech art world.

A close-up of the Entropa installation which shows Bulgaria as a basic toilet, Brussels, Belgium, 13 January 2009

In pictures: Entropa installation
Mardell blog: But is it art?

When his government commissioned him to create the installation, several eyebrows were raised, and they were not raised in vain, our correspondent adds.

Czech Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra said he was only informed on Monday that the installation was not the work of 27 European artists, but David Cerny and two colleagues.

Mr Vondra condemned Mr Cerny and said the Czech EU presidency was considering what steps to take before Thursday's official launch.

"An agreement of the office of the government with the artist clearly stated that this will be a common work of artists from 27 EU states," he said.

"The full responsibility for violating this assignment and this promise lies with David Cerny."

Mr Cerny, who presented Entropa to his government with a brochure describing each of the artwork's 27 supposed contributors from each member state, has apologised for misleading ministers, but not for the installation itself.

"We knew the truth would come out," said Mr Cerny. "But before that we wanted to find out if Europe is able to laugh at itself."

He added that 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".

Mr Cerny first created a splash in the early 1990s when he painted a Soviet tank, a Second World War memorial in a Prague square, bright pink.

ireland is depicted as as bog with with a bagpipe sticking out of it.

story
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7827738.stm

link to a guide to the work
http://www.scribd.com/doc/10209305/entropa

Biggins

...must be a slow day.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055461405

elpresdentde

sorry didnt see it

Browney7

elpresdentde wrote: »

ireland is depicted as as bog with with a bagpipe sticking out of it.

Thought an alcoholic beverage might have been more appropriate;)

ShooterSF

How does that motorway look ANYTHING like a swatsika?!

marcsignal

Browney7 wrote: »

Thought an alcoholic beverage might have been more appropriate;)

or a dirty syringe and a lipstick stained champagne glass, covered in a pool of vomit

Cookie_Monster

I disagree with Bulgaria being the toilet. Clearly Romania is much more of a hole...

What're we, a rudderless ship...

Morlar

ShooterSF wrote: »

How does that motorway look ANYTHING like a swatsika?!

It clearly looks swastika-ish imo.

Thought the england one was funny (ie it's not there). France too was on the money, also the netherlands (minarets above the rising tide) the Ireland one seems boring in comparison. I think thats the same artist who painted a russian tank bright pink.

For some reason czech artists seem to have a knack for encouraging reasonably meaningful debate (more so than the more well known turner prize winners at least).

Cookie_Monster

Would they not be Oileann pipes rather than bagpipes?

elpresdentde

i dont understand the Slovakian one


ireland shound be made out dirty supermacs burger consumed by brian cowen and mary harney

or a rotting corpse of a tiger.

marcsignal

mods can we merge this with the other thread ?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055461405

admiralofthefleet

the swedish one is funny

elpresdentde

or delete it whatever

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

What we should do is an Irish one. A stereotypical irish map with a referene to each county.

Biggins

Dragan wrote: »

Why does everyone assume they are Scottish when they actually originated in the Roman Empire?

Possibly correct.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagpipes#Possible_ancient_origins

Tyler MacDurden

2tel1 wrote: »

Did you read the UK text. Jesus, they should have been banned straight off for that. Absolute drivel. Seriously, any one can use a thesaurus to write mumbojumbo. It's just complicated for the sake of being complicated. Pathetic



:rolleyes:

On the contrary, they've nailed that type of abstract artists' waffle perfectly, and quite deliberately. My sister's an artist and I used to proof-read her essays in college. Atrocious, meandering nonsense. (Sorry sis!:D) If you go to a modern art exhibit, pick up the accompanying literature, you'll see what Cerny is getting at.

Anyone who's been to Prague will most likely have seen some of his stuff. If not, look it up. He's a bit of a subversive genius in my humble opinion, and this is a masterstroke.

Mark200

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

What we should do is an Irish one. A stereotypical irish map with a referene to each county.

So something like...

farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm with spire in the middle, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm

Morlar

Mark200 wrote: »

So something like...

farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm with spire in the middle, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm, farm

I would have thrown in a few tree hugging hippies, zero-life-experience pc students & the pyjama wearing daytime telly welfare ho's.

patstillidie

is this what other europeans think of us? and this guy is informed, i wonder what the average joe soap thinks of little Eire.:eek:

Mark200

patstillidie wrote: »

is this what other europeans think of us?

If you're talking about me, I am Irish.

Nothing wrong with being honest with yourself

patstillidie

eh what? lolz im talking about the guy who made it. only said in jest of course.

BlitzKrieg

We must be the only country offended because we werent offended by the representation of ireland...

Ponster

patstillidie wrote: »

is this what other europeans think of us? and this guy is informed, i wonder what the average joe soap thinks of little Eire.:eek:

Very little I'd imagine. A Nation of farmers and U2 and rain tends to be the general opinion I get after 10 years of living over here...

galwayrush

I've seen worse, but that was crap.:rolleyes:

Thirdfox

Ponster wrote: »

Very little I'd imagine. A Nation of farmers and U2 and rain tends to be the general opinion I get after 10 years of living over here...

don't forget to add Westlife ...

patstillidie

Ponster wrote: »

Very little I'd imagine. A Nation of farmers and U2 and rain tends to be the general opinion I get after 10 years of living over here...

ignorance. do they not listen to the news?

seriously tho spanish ive been friends with seem to have a good understanding of ireland, but maby thats because of the swarms of students who make their way here during the summer.

LoadedNapalm

Germany kinda does look like a Swastika in my opinion

Onikage

Not nearly insulting enough. I feel insulted.

sock puppet

Onikage wrote: »

Not nearly insulting enough. I feel insulted.

That must have been his aim. The bastard.

dtgroarke

Poland is the only one with any real punch, sending up the arch homophobic, atavistic Catholic regime!

Terry

patstillidie wrote: »

ignorance. do they not listen to the news?

seriously tho spanish ive been friends with seem to have a good understanding of ireland, but maby thats because of the swarms of students who make their way here during the summer.

What part of being banned do you not get?

I'm lenghtening the ban on your original account to a month.
If you register another account all of your accounts will be site banned.

getz

Das Kitty wrote: »

Why does everyone outside of Ireland think that bagpipes are Irish?

the bagpipes are a irish invention given to the scotish as a joke the only thing is they havent yet spotted it

Unpossible

I love this piece although the Irish one is boring, then again if he knows us then he knows that putting anything negative there would just have had us agreeing with him

Kinda sucks to be Bulgaria though