‘Czech Ambassador’ David Cerny’s Art Hoax Makes Everyone Look Silly, Including Him

David Cerny has upset most PC-minded people in Europe by making some awfully titled art, pretending it was real, then laughing at everyone, including the Czech Republic (who thought they were commissioning work from 27 different artists), because he’s dead clever, and tricked us. Oh Cerny, don’t we all look so stupid now that you’re only making ironic art, instead of doing serious stuff like painting soviet tanks pink and sticking sweary fingers on them?

Prague-born sculptor Cerny has admitted that the 172 sq ft, eight ton mosaic ‘Entropa’ is actually a hoax completely constructed by himself and a couple of helpers. It displays Bulgaria as a Turkish toilet, thus disgruntling the Bulgarians to a point where they have lodged an official complaint and summoned the Czech ambassador to Sofia. Other countries have not fared much better: Britain is represented by an empty gap, Germany is a swastika-shaped bunch of motorways and France is labelled ‘on strike’.

Cerny did bother to make up typically twatty accompanying statements to go with each section of the exhibit, which read similarly to his real statement of intent for the work. Britain’s comment reads: “This improvement of exactness means that its individual selective sieve can cover the so-called objective sieve.”

He later said that the work “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”.

You aren’t lampooning it Dave, if you’re making it. You were supposed to be making something nice for your own country to celebrate its EU presidency, and now you’ve upset everyone. It’s not even a joke. I mean, where’s the punchline?

Posted by Jennifer Allan in Creative Economy | January 16, 2009 10:55AM |