Putin Art

[Pendergast, John J CIV USA USMA]

The controversy over Diego Rivera's "Man at the Crossroads" is not entirely analogous either.  After public outcry drew attention to the presence of Lenin in the mural, the controlling agents of Rockefeller Center had it removed and destroyed, without any involvement on the part of the government.


John Pendergast
Assistant Professor of Russian
Department of Foreign Languages
745 Brewerton Road
West Point, NY 10069
845-938-6154



-----Original Message-----
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list [mailto:SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Alexander Herbert
Sent: Friday, August 30, 2013 9:52 AM
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Putin Art

Don't forget about Diego Rivera's original piece in Rockefeller Center... It was not an art exhibition per se, but it was definitely taken down after strong reactions... On Aug 30, 2013, at 9:39 AM, Martin Votruba <votruba+slangs at PITT.EDU> wrote:

>> These comparisons are not convincing.
> 
> I agree.
> 
>> When has our Federal government made any response to an art exhibit?
> 
> Just to answer the question A) taken literally (otherwise, see above) -- there were FBI "responses" when there were doubts about the ownership of some paintings; B) not the FBI and not an exhibition -- the Oklahoma City police visited libraries and people's homes in 1997 in order to confiscate copies of The Tin Drum directed by Volker Schloendorff. Their actions were later overturned by a court ruling. The question then probably is not strictly that this has happened in Russia (weird/corrupt things can happen), but whether the gallery owner and the artist have a fair legal recourse. Konstantin Altunin doesn't appear to think so.
> 
> 
> Martin
> 
> votruba "at" pitt "dot" edu
> 
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