Putin Art

[Michele A Berdy]

In "whataboutism," you pick one aspect of a situation in Russia and find
analogous situations in the US. In the case of Altunin's paintings, it's
"find cases where the authorities objected to art making fun of leaders." 

And there's a slew of them - only when you look at them, you see that they
are more different than similar. In the US, many of the cases were only
attempts to block exhibitions, thwarted by legal action or threat of legal
action. Or it wasn't the authorities who objected, it was the public who was
outraged. In many of the examples, it's an issue of public funding for the
arts - including publicly funded museums -- which has nothing to do with the
case in St. Petersburg. In the case of Diego Rivera's piece, it was a
privately commissioned work of art and had nothing to do with either the
authorities or the public.  

But the biggest difference is in the consequences for the art and artist. In
the case of Altunin - and here I must assume people don't know this, or they
wouldn't have written what they did - the paintings were confiscated and are
being analyzed for extremism. That could land Altunin in jail for two years.
Or there might be an "insult to the feelings of believers" in the painting
of the Patriarch. That's another year in jail. Or it might be "slander of
officials" in all of them. He might face a serious jail term for his
paintings. I don't think there were any consequences for the artists in the
US (somewhere there may have been pornography charges, but not, I think, in
any cases of depictions of political figures). 

Oh, right - the clown. If mandatory sensitivity training is "far too close
to police action," then what is a 5-year jail term for a snarky painting? 

I would also like to clarify why I, personally, am critical. It isn't
because someone - authorities or the public - objected to art or tried to
get exhibitions closed. That happens everywhere.  

I'm outraged that an artist might face a lengthy jail term for a snarky
painting, and that in the context of the new laws that inhibit or forbid any
public disagreement with the authorities, apparently making jokes about them
in art is also against the law.

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