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Steven
Day's digital C-print "Democratie ist lustig, (Democracy is
funny)", part of the "Emergency Room" art exhibit in |
Thu
By Karina Huber
http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=14672
More than 30 artists are participating in "Emergency
Room," a multimedia exhibit staged in the city's
If an artist fails to meet the daily
"We tried
to show that an artist can work fast and make a masterpiece," said Thierry
Geoffroy, creator of the exhibit, who said he came up
with the concept after growing frustrated by his inability to express himself
while watching the news.
"Contemporary art has a one- or two-year delay," said
the French-born artist. "You cannot express fast, so I decided to start a
system where I could express the same day."
The stories artists choose must present an emergency or have
long-lasting implications, and they must present a point of view. While criticism
of the Bush administration is permitted, no direct critiques of President
George W. Bush are allowed, Geoffroy said.
"That would be too easy," he said. Continued...
One recent piece depicted the face of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spray-painted
on a piece of cloth inscribed with the words, "I'm The Decider."
Another piece, created by
Premo said he created the project in
response to news about a U.S. Department of Homeland Security plan to force
foreigners to provide imprints of 10, instead of two, fingers when they arrive
in the
While not all the artists submit a piece each day of the
exhibit, which runs until March 19, Premo does,
rising each morning at 6:30 a.m. to scour newspapers for a suitable story and
create an animated piece. "Then I get in my car and drive here as quickly
as I can," the artist said.
That immediacy
is what Geoffroy wants to promote.
"When the artist sees something that doesn't work in the
democracy, for example misuse of power, propaganda strategy, he has to inform
the public very fast," he said.