Czech artist David Cerny discusses Entropa at British Council Brussels - part 1 of 2

'Entropa', a work by Czech artist David Cerny, caused a diplomatic and media stir when it was unveiled in mid January 2009 to mark the beginning of the Czech Republic's six-month presidency of the EU.
Once the dust had settled, the artist was invited by the British Council in Brussels to discuss the work at at EUNIC Club event (EUNIC stands for EU National Institutes for Culture). This video (which is divided into two parts) is a record of that discussion and was recorded on 12 March 2009.

Some background to 'Entropa'
The unveiling of Entropa, and the diplomatic stir surrounding it, was reported in national newspapers across Europe and beyond. Remarking on the work, Ivan Iskrov, governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, described it as preposterous and offending to the Bulgarian national dignity while Betina Joteva, spokesperson for the Bulgarian mission to the EU said that "Bulgarian national dignity is at stake here".
Alexandr Vondra, the Czech deputy prime minister apologised to anyone who was offended by the work and admitted that the Czech government had had an unpleasant surprise when it discovered that the work was not the product of 27 artists from all EU member states but had been conceived and created by Černý and a team of collaborators alone. A British Council online poll at the time, showed that 40% of site users found the work offensive.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• David Cerny
• Entropa
• British Council
• EUNIC
• Cultural relations
• Brussels
• European Union
• European Commission

[thousandlegger]

this guy is a very refreshing artist. can't believe i have just now heard of him.