Deface Jesus and risk doing time

Ségolène — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:48:00 +0200

When vandals destroyed pieces of modern art in an exhibition in Moscow, it wasn't the perpetrators who got into trouble. According to the law, their actions were justifiable. Museum director Yuri Samodurov however, is now facing several years in prison for putting on another of the "Christianity-offensive" shows.

In 2003 the Andrei Sakharov Museum and Community Center put up artwork in a show called "Careful, Religion!" When the display was vandalised by orthodox Christians, the organisers of the exhibition were put to blame. In the opinion of the Russian court, it was the centre's fault for provoking offense, and worthy of a 200,000 Russian Ruble fine (5,400 euros). Now, the museum's director is once again facing charges for inciting religious hatred. Despite using peep-hole viewing methods so that only those people interested would look at the 2007 "Forbidden Art" show, both director Yuri Samodurov and curator Andrei Erofeev are facing prison terms for displaying defaced religious symbols.

Modern art hijacks television

Julien — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 10:07:00 +0100

A group of artists in the Czech Republic are facing up to three years in prison for playing a practical joke. Last July, the ‘Ztohoven' art group hijacked a Czech television broadcast and introduced the image of an atomic cloud into a weather report. Early risers who were tuned into the morning programme were stunned to see the cloud rising in the midst of a peaceful country landscape.

The stunt caused outrage in the country, but it was also commended; the group was awarded the NG 333 prize by the National Gallery, with a cash bonus of €12,500. Yet despite their appraisals, the trial for ‘attempted scaremongering' and ‘the distribution of deliberately misleading information' is fast approaching for half a dozen of the artists. Our Observer for Eastern Europe talked to one of the elusive group's members about why they did it. See the original video and photos of past ‘offences' committed by the group.