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Cooper Union has taken down the giant Stalin banner that went up this week following pressure from the Dept. of Buildings, which had received complaints. The banner was part of Lene Berg's installation, “Stalin by Picasso, or Portrait of Woman with Mustache.” The school recognized that it may be particularly sensitive circumstances to have it up--with a large nearby Ukranin community keenly aware that it is the 75th anniversary of a famine imposed by Stalin that killed millions of Ukrainians. Jaroslaw Leshko, the president of the board of trustees at the Ukrainian Museum, did not want to kibosh the installation and suggested it be put up somewhere indoors. But Berg was more than unhappy with the move, saying, “In a sense, I think it’s self-censorship...They ruined my show, my work.”
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The "academy" in the art world generally needs to get a clue regarding critical theory vs art. Enough already with art which embodies critical theory. Art should transcend ideology. The academy should preserve that truth.
Bull. When you impose your insensitive "art" on the public (especially groups with relevant tragic history), you're being a dick. If your statement isn't obvious, you're going to upset a lot of people. Berg should respect the community and suck it up.
This man killed more people than Hitler.
Fuck her and her "art".
I agree, Matty. Fuck her. And her "art".
So, is the only art worth mentioning anymore art that offends as many people as possible?
Note to artists: it takes no talent to offend people. It takes talent to make people think. One should try to NOT confuse the two.
Why are so many of these "message artists" so fixated on twentieth century idioms? Why all the historical drama, not just by this half-assed artist, but by the offended community? If I were Ukrainian, I would be much more angered by a huge portrait of Vladimir Putin.
aside the question "how THIS is art?"
I am really wondering why people are being so sensitive?
Why does the image of a long dead schmuck offends anyone?
Why cannot I wear the "Hitler: European Tour 1941-1945" T-shirt, even being jewish myself?
Political correctness, or rather paranoia, is driving this country nuts.
I personally perceive the image of a Georgian (ooppsss) schmuck in content of a "woman with mustache" as a derogatory.
Do you get personally offended by the image of a soft-hanging dick scratch on the window of a subway?
And how did Putin anger Ukrainians? especially those leaving in Manhattan?
And the last one: Stalin and Putin both made it to the TIME magazine front page as a Person of the Year... Yeah! the big mugshot of both of them!
Welcome to Barack HUSSEIN Obama's Amerikka where tyrants are the new heroes. Who will be feted next in the East Village? Mao? Khomeini? Fidel?
#8 Doza - "Why does the image of a long dead schmuck offends anyone?"
WWII wasn't that long ago.
The nice part of the story is that Cooper Union got to meet its Ukranian neighbors. Too bad the context was a huge banner of the man who committed genocide on their people.
"George W. is the president and will continue to be president for the next 2 1/2 months, you jackass."
And we all know that Fartists who idolize Stalin & Mao would NEVER vote for Obama... /sarcasm off
Like the America-hating jerk who created the Obey Obama logos:
http://images.google.com/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=Shepard%20Fairey&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi
Face the facts cult followers. This would never have happened without the new atmosphere of communism that has engulfed NYC.
THE ONE's followers are even more brainwashed than North Koreans. We are living in scary times!
The banner is not a portrait of Stalin. It's a portrait of a woman in the guise of Stalin, and not a very flattering one at that. It is also not Berg's artwork, it's Picasso's. Some of you seem to miss this fact.
Stalin, Castro, Che Guevara, Hugo Chavez....is there any marxist tyrant the left in this country doesn't have a hard-on for?
^ Mao Tse Tung, who would have rounded up you conservative jerks, denounced you and then had you shot next to a mass grave. We like him too.
#18, NANNYSTATE, I have news for you. Mao would have been able to sniff your bullshit from out of a crowd of 10 million. What makes your moronic hipster mind think that Mao would embrace you and your silly little hipster values? Mao Tse Tung would have put a bullet in the back of your fat neo-lib head after YOU paid for the bullet.
Now go put on your Che t-shirt grab a cup of latte and NY Times and pretend you matter.
While I agree this was a very insensitive piece of "art," isn't this a violation of the "artist's" 1st Amendment right to freedom of expression?
The right to free speech doesn't oblige anyone else to provide you with forum for that speech.
"They ruined my show, my work.” I guess the only thing left is to kill yourself. Such is the tragic life and death of an artist.
I abhor censorship, but this is yet one more major gaffe on Cooper Union's part. As if their relationship with the Ukrainian community wasn't strained enough already.
They could have thought this one through a little better. Also, the art is ugly.
But anyone trying to somehow tie this portrait of Stalin to the popularity of Obama needs to put their apple bong down and go get some fresh air...
@#19, I frequently spill my latte all over the Times laughing at your sincere lack of sincerity parroting a conservative idiot. Try Alabama: they take kindly to street preachers and flim flam men who tell them they smell good.