Thursday, October 11, 2007

Neo-Nazis vandalize Andres Serrano exhibit

A pack of Swedish neo-Nazis ran amuck at a gallery last Friday and destroyed several photographs taken by artist Andres Serrano. Serrano- a New York-born photographer of Honduran and Afro-Cuban background- was “shocked and horrified” after the masked hooligans crashed the gallery in Lund, Sweden and ruined some of his work:

"No guards were on duty in the gallery, said Viveca Ohlsson, the show’s curator...By the time the masked men had finished, half the show — seven 50-by-60-inch photographs, worth some $200,000 over all — had been destroyed. The men left behind leaflets reading, 'Against decadence and for a healthier culture.' The fliers listed no name or organization."

However, one of the members of the group videotaped the incident and posted it on YouTube. The ruffians claimed to “express the opinion of normal people,” before showing how they entered the gallery and used picks and crowbars to ruin some of Serrano's images.

Click here to watch the video mentioned above.

Serrano’s works have been the subject of much controversy. His most infamous moment was over “Piss Christ” (image)- a 1989 photograph of a crucifix immersed in his own urine.

(Hat tip: Metafilter).

Image- The City Review

Sources- Wikipedia, Queerty, Towleroad, communityarts.net, Metafilter

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