http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=97049
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7827738.stm

So what do you guys think about the new art work in Brussels. It depicts EU countries by stereotypes. Some people have found it offensive. What do you think about it overall and the representation of your country?

Some of them are pretty interesting. Poland has Catholic priests erecting a rainbow flag. Bulgaria is a Turkish toilet. Germany is a Autobahn juncton shaped in a certain kind of way. Finland is covered with a saunafloor and has a drunk hunter living on it. On France there´s a slogan which translated means strike. Italy has a bunch of footballers holding a ball near their crotch for some reason. UK is missing representing it´s Euro-scepticism. And so on...

Estonia has a hammer and a sickle on it. It probably depicts the Soviet Union past and the fact that some politicians have backgrounds in the communist party. It´s over the top and it applies to almost all of the former Eastern Bloc countries so it´s odd that Estonia was chosen for it but it´s kind of true so no reason to make a big deal out of it.

Overall I don´t really know what to think of it actualy. I can see why some people would be annoyed but I don´t really mind.

Well appart the German one which really is a bit offensive and provocative all the others are just bad taste...The only one that made me laugh is the french one!

My father works in that building and it is indeed crap if you see it up close!

I'm surprised Greece is actually in it - the stereotype would be for it to be absent.

EDIT:
Having seen more pictures of it online I can understand what they're driving to with all the symbolism and all that breaking of stereotypes and everyone being a piece, blah blah...

But seen in detail I think the aesthetic value of that thing is rather low - I imagine you can make the same statement, even using the exact same symbolic approach or even more controversial, with something that actually looks better and you could probably get away with it too. Unless they purposely wanted to go for the cheap look.

The stereotype of being British is to be absent? Surely a burberry baseball cap would be more appropriate?

How are cooling towers for atomic reactors a stereotype for Austria?

It's kinda funny, and on the other hand it feels Czech is just giving the finger for the rest of Europe. How they are presented on the work by the way?

And how is a bagpipe reprasentative for Ireland?

Quote from Blackout :

It's kinda funny, and on the other hand it feels Czech is just giving the finger for the rest of Europe. How they are presented on the work by the way?

At least some countries have a sense of humour ^^

They could have at least depicted Maggie Thatcher in some way for the British one

Quote from bbman :

How are cooling towers for atomic reactors a stereotype for Austria?

That's a good question really - I thought you guys were against nuclear energy...?

Sounds like they need to czech their facts. Har har.

Quote from duke_toaster :

They could have at least depicted Maggie Thatcher in some way for the British one

Or put a miniature USA on there instead. Now that's controversy for you.

Quote from xaotik :

That's a good question really - I thought you guys were against nuclear energy...?

They are. I think the cooling towers are there because lately inside the EU, Austria has only stood out by their "anti-nuclear" campaign. I remember them heavily critizing, I think Slovakia and Bulgaria, for wanting to fire up their nuclear plants when Russia turned off the gas. Do they expect the people there to sit in the dark and quietly freeze to death?

UK is missing because it´s about stereotypes and also about EU. And UK seems to be the one that doesn´t really want to be a part of the EU.

Could someone explain the Dutch one to me? I get the flooding but what´s up with the minarets. I didn´t know they had lots of Muslims there?

Quote from xaotik :

That's a good question really - I thought you guys were against nuclear energy...?

Exactly... A lynchmob burning those towers down - now that would depict us in a way...

So it basically shows what a lot of people think about each country, but are to frightened to say.

Quote from Kalev EST :

Could someone explain the Dutch one to me? I get the flooding but what´s up with the minarets. I didn´t know they had lots of Muslims there?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I ... _education_and_employment

Perhaps what got the artist more was the murder of van Gogh?

Quote :

Could someone explain the Dutch one to me? I get the flooding but what´s up with the minarets. I didn´t know they had lots of Muslims there?

I dont know what a minaret is, but racial tensions do run high in the Nederlands - there was that Fitna movie and various assissinations and stuff. The Muslim and white populations seem to me to be really struggling to come to terms with each other. It's a different image to the stoned hippy on a bicycle one has traditionally imagined.

One important aspect missing from this discussion is that this work has been completed by a single artist and not, as originally intended, by one artist per displayed country.
From this source:

Quote :

The Czech Republic, which holds the EU presidency, thought it had commissioned work from 27 European artists.

But it turned out to have been entirely completed by Czech artist David Cerny and two associates.

Considering this I made the following comment on a different forum:

Quote from Vain :

For me what's stirring up the interest is that what was supposed to be a collaborative work of europeans became the expression of a single man's first thought about other countries. The exhibition completely failed at giving a picture of how europe views it's own downsides. It actually opposes the original task directly. Instead of each country displaying it's own stereotypes to achieve some sort of company in in-perfection it's one man who accuses other countries of stereotypes.

It really is an organisational failure on a pretty big scale.

Besides that, I don't want to comment on the displayed stereotypes. After all, I don't consider them valid in the first place due to the fact that they merely display one person's prejudice.

Vain

Actually when you think about it the fact that the work was undertaken by 1 artist, 2 mates, and 27 fictional names is in itself a testimony of the EU, setting out on the right mission but fundamentally corrupt that a piece of art commissioned for it's headquarters is corrupted for the financial gain of 1 man with the right contacts. This is art in a very ironic way.

Quote from Kalev EST :

http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=97049
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7827738.stm

So what do you guys think about the new art work in Brussels. It depicts EU countries by stereotypes. Some people have found it offensive. What do you think about it overall and the representation of your country?

Some of them are pretty interesting. Poland has Catholic priests erecting a rainbow flag. Bulgaria is a Turkish toilet. Germany is a Autobahn juncton shaped in a certain kind of way. Finland is covered with a saunafloor and has a drunk hunter living on it. On France there´s a slogan which translated means strike. Italy has a bunch of footballers holding a ball near their crotch for some reason. UK is missing representing it´s Euro-scepticism. And so on...

Estonia has a hammer and a sickle on it. It probably depicts the Soviet Union past and the fact that some politicians have backgrounds in the communist party. It´s over the top and it applies to almost all of the former Eastern Bloc countries so it´s odd that Estonia was chosen for it but it´s kind of true so no reason to make a big deal out of it.

Overall I don´t really know what to think of it actualy. I can see why some people would be annoyed but I don´t really mind.

The piece says a lot more about the artists prejudices than it says about modern European countries. Basically it's all a load of rubbish, the art is bad, it's based on behaviour or images that aren't relevant in the most part and are at best unhelpful and at worst divisive. I really don't see the point of it, it's so out of date as a concept.