EU Art Angers Members

The Czech Republic, this year's acting president of the European Union, commissioned a piece of art from one of their most controversial artists and the result was, not surprisingly, controversial. The artist, David Cerny, was commissioned to bring together 27 artists from each of the EU member countries for the project. Instead, Cerny invented artists and created stereotypical images of each of the member countries that bordered on the offensive. For example, Germany is represented by autobahns that somewhat resemble a swastika, Sweden is represented by an IKEA package, Bulgaria is represented by squat toilets, and Romania is represented by a Dracula-style theme park. The art was placed on display at the EU headquarters in Brussels and its installation angered many. The New York Times has video and a slide show and FP Passport also has a story.