Hoax EU sculpture by David Cerny sparks diplomatic spat
A hoax artwork which was supposed to celebrate European diversity provoked a full-scale diplomatic incident between Bulgaria and the Czech Republic today.
The sculpture, commissioned by the Czech government to mark their EU presidency, mocked Europe’s national stereotypes, but some governments have failed to get the joke.
Bulgaria has taken exception to its caricature, which depicts the country as a Turkish squat toilet. The country´s ambassador wrote formal letters of complaint to the Czech EU presidency and Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, today.
Officials have demanded that the sculpture be taken down before the exhibit’s public opening tomorrow.
Betina Joteva, first secretary for the Bulgarian office to the EU, said: ´I cannot accept to see a toilet on the map of my country. This is not the face of Bulgaria.´
The Czech government commissioned the work from David Cerny, but he claimed it would contain individual sculptures created by artists from all of the EU nations. It emerged yesterday that it was a hoax and that he had designed all of the works himself.
France is represented by a banner that reads “Strike!”, while Romania is an oversized Dracula theme park. Luxembourg is a tiny lump of gold with a “For Sale” sign and the Netherlands is depicted entirely submerged by water apart from minarets from the nation’s mosques. Sweden is an Ikea flat pack and Lithuania has three statues urinating on Russia.
Slovakia is also thought to have made a complaint about the way it has been portrayed – as a wrapped up corpse.
Cerny admitted yesterday that the whole thing had been a hoax, and that he had invented the names of the “up-and-coming” artists from the 27 member states.
There was also the question of what became of £350,000 in funding meant for the artists.
This is the news..
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5517736.ece

I am still laughing at this news..
This is better actually:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/world/europe/15mosaic.html?ref=world
it says :
Mr. Cerny is notorious for thumbing his nose at the establishment. He was arrested in 1991 for painting a tank, a Soviet war memorial in a Prague square, bright pink.
I love this guy I must say 
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