This is one of the more bizarre stories to come across my desk recently.
I haven’t filed it under “cultural enrichment”, despite the fact that the accomplished artist — who plans to beat animals to death at an opening in the Pompidou Center — is of Algerian origin. I suspect that his project would never have seen the light of day if he had not been “brown”, but there’s no way to know for sure.
Does his treatment of his artistic subjects follow halal guidelines? Does this have anything at all to do with Islam? You decide.
Many thanks to our Spanish correspondent Hermes for translating the article from Alerta Digital:
Degradation of France has no limits: a “French” “artist” intended to kill animals in the Centre Pompidou
The animal right activists are demanding that a bloody show in the famous French Centre Pompidou be banned. The French artist Adel Abdessemed plans to end his exhibition in this museum by torturing animals.
The artist of Algerian origin will bring a cow, a calf, a pig, a goat and a sheep to the Centre Pompidou — which is one of the most famous museums in Paris — and smash them to death with a hammer to the sound of heavy [metal music].
“We have to stop this absurd show from the point of view of the true artists and those who appreciate art. Torturing animals is not art, but cruelty, and humans should not do this. This show would be an insult to the feelings of many people who defend animals,” says the petition addressed to Culture Minister Aurélie Filippetti.
The appeal to stop this “dreadful crime” has received 25,500 signatures in three weeks at the civil organization’s website avaaz.org, but 30,000 are needed. The animal rights activists will demonstrate next to the museum.
This center is currently presenting the first major exhibition dedicated to the artist Adel Abdessemed, which will be open till January 7, and bears the name “I am Innocent”. A gigantic sculpture was temporarily erected as part of the exhibition. It displays the famous head butt which the French Zinedine Zidane directed to the Italian Marco Matterazi at the final of the 2006 World Soccer Championship in Germany.
In spite of the important prestige and international recognition, many have doubts about the artistic value of Adel Abdessemed. Some years ago one of his exhibitions was closed in San Francisco five days after the opening, due to massive protests and threats.
France has recently seen scandals involving animals. This week the famous actress Brigitte Bardot declared that she will apply for the Russian citizenship if two elephants in the Lyon zoo that are ill with tuberculosis are killed because of fears that the illness could be passed on to humans.
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