mickey mouse + swastika + naked woman = art

[Amby 490]

The poster, which went up in June in the western city of Poznan just steps from a synagogue, is an Italian artist's take on what he calls the "horrors" of the American lifestyle and is one piece of artwork in a contemporary art exhibition opening in the autumn.

But the reaction shows that there is little appetite in Poland for satirical or artistic uses of images linked to Nazi Germany, which invaded Poland in 1939 and built ghettoes and death camps across the country in which millions were murdered.

"This art provocation is a form of violence against the sensitivity of many people," said Norbert Napieraj, a city council member who asked prosecutors to ban the poster.

Prosecutors, however, determined that the poster is art and does not violate the country's laws against glorifying Nazism.

The poster has been vandalized twice since it first went up, and on Tuesday was no longer stretched across a building in the city centre. Despite the uproar, gallery director Maria Czarnecka said she plans to put it back up.

"Art should be provocative and controversial," she said, insisting that the poster does not seek to propagate Nazism but instead wants to explore "symbols and how they work."

"The Mickey Mouse head and swastika are on the same level - they don't mean anything and they are both part of the globalized world," Ms Czarnecka said.

Jewish leaders, who have been outraged at the poster, would disagree, saying the swastika still means something very real to many Poles, Jews and non-Jews alike.

Poland was once home to Europe's largest Jewish community, which numbered close to 3.5 million people before it was nearly wiped out in the Holocaust.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/7891502/Mickey-Mouse-with-swastika-poster-upsets-Polish.html

[IndigoSkies 168]

If Muhammad cartoons are allowed to be displayed and published, then this should be allowed to be published and displayed. Seriously, when it comes to free speech we can't pick 'n' chose. So what this hurts some people's sensitivity? I'm sure the cartoons of Muhammad hurt millions of people's sensitivity.

[IndigoSkies 168]

If Muhammad cartoons are allowed to be displayed and published, then this should be allowed to be published and displayed. Seriously, when it comes to free speech we can't pick 'n' chose. So what this hurts some people's sensitivity? I'm sure the cartoons of Muhammad hurt millions of people's sensitivity.

[Jenn! 918]

"Art should be provocative and controversial," she said, insisting that the poster does not seek to propagate Nazism but instead wants to explore "symbols and how they work."

"The Mickey Mouse head and swastika are on the same level - they don't mean anything and they are both part of the globalized world," Ms Czarnecka said.

Artists are so full of it sometimes.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I think you'd have to be cynical in the extreme to get the symbolism there.

Artists are so full of it sometimes.

I think it's fairly clear what the artist is saying in that image. I just wonder if he has first hand experience of the "American lifestyle" to justify it. Something tells me he probably doesn't.

[Gary and Alla 3,696]

I'll bet the girl model was Ukrainian. Basically...who cares? If you don't like it, look the other way.

[Ban Hammer 14,674]

stories like this prove that just because one is an artist, having taste is optional.

Edited July 15, 2010 by charles!

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

stories like this prove that just because one is an artist, having taste is optional.

It's less of a question of taste than of having an intelligent point to make. Can the artist justify his vague statement about the "American Lifestyle"? I doubt it.

Something tells me the artist would get in very well with BY.