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MineralMan

(149,580 posts)
11. Is it bad art, Guy? I don't know.
Mon Jan 14, 2019, 04:20 PM
Jan 2019

You say it is cartoonish, and I tend to agree with you, but I am not the artist. Is cartoon art bad? Many would disagree.

What did the artist mean by putting Ronald MacDonald on the cross? I don't know that, either, because I haven't asked him or her. Do you know?

But those questions are irrelevant, really. Someone created a piece of art, which is hanging in some building because someone thought it was of some artistic merit or meaningful. Otherwise, the artist would have seen his or her artwork rejected for display. It's not my building. It's not my artwork. It's not my business, really.

However, some Christians in the area, as identified in the news story, decided that the art was bad and that they disliked it. So, they protested by throwing Molotov cocktails at the building. Now, if I thought the art was of poor quality or in poor taste, I would have simply avoided going to view it. I would not have resorted to destructive, dangerous methods to state my dislike of it.

That is not what happened, though. A group of Christians in the area threw Molotov cocktails at the building containing the artwork.

See, I think that is a really bad idea and illustrates some real intolerance of freedom of expression. It's also very dangerous and could destroy property or injure people. Molotov cocktails are the weapons of terrorists, and have been for a long, long time.

Now, you liken this to the official intolerance of China, but I don't see the connection there at all. In this case, it was a group of religious people who did not like a work of art so they tried to destroy it and the building it was in. A group of Christians in one place, acting on their own account. They were not a country. They were not doing anything but carrying out an act of terrorism, based on their religious zeal.

There is a great deal of bad art on display almost everywhere, in my opinion. I have my own preferences when it comes to art. However, if someone displays art I think is bad or even in very poor taste, I simply ignore it. I see cartoonish representations of Jesus all the time, with him depicted as a blond-haired, blue-eyed European. I'm not even fond of religion in the first place. Bad art, but what is that to me? I am not going to try to destroy it or even protest its existence. Why would I bother?

This thread is about violence carried out by a group of Christians in Israel who were offended by a work of satirical art. I find that troubling. You find official intolerance of Christianity in China troubling. Are you going to throw molotov cocktails at the Chinese Embassy in protest? No, of course you are not going to do that. The most you will do is complain about it here on DU, as far as I can tell.

Molotov Cocktails? That's pretty far over the line, don't you think? But it's not equivalent to official government intolerance of a religious group. That's even worse, but not something I can do anything about. Certainly not with a terrorist attack using incendiary devices.

Bad art? Really? Who cares?

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Burger King has Apostles, though. Pope George Ringo II Jan 2019 #1
The Duke of Doubt gay texan Jan 2019 #3
I'm actually a devotee of Whataburger, even with those stupid stickers in the window. Pope George Ringo II Jan 2019 #12
"One nation under gawwwwwd" gay texan Jan 2019 #18
Such is the response by the religious to any mockery of their religion. MineralMan Jan 2019 #2
A very broad brush was used in the crafting of this response. guillaumeb Jan 2019 #4
Focus, Guy! Focus... MineralMan Jan 2019 #5
Widen your narrow focus. guillaumeb Jan 2019 #6
One thing at a time, Guy. One thread at a time. MineralMan Jan 2019 #7
Art can be provocative. guillaumeb Jan 2019 #10
Is it bad art, Guy? I don't know. MineralMan Jan 2019 #11
Pam Geller, one of the founders of Act for America, guillaumeb Jan 2019 #13
Never heard of her. Was she involved with that MineralMan Jan 2019 #14
If you have never heard of her, guillaumeb Jan 2019 #20
I did. MineralMan Jan 2019 #24
And their actions also abound. eom guillaumeb Jan 2019 #25
Art causes violence? Act_of_Reparation Jan 2019 #15
Well, see...example found on Google of something MineralMan Jan 2019 #16
If someone blows up your house because they were offended by that... Act_of_Reparation Jan 2019 #17
Is that a real thing? Cartoonist Jan 2019 #22
If not, it's an opportunity. MineralMan Jan 2019 #23
Is there an art to incitment? guillaumeb Jan 2019 #21
So if religious extremists attack a satirical Voltaire2 Jan 2019 #19
This message was self-deleted by its author thucythucy Jan 2019 #26
Versus Cartoonist Jan 2019 #8
Now you are getting it, those acts are absolutely... NeoGreen Jan 2019 #9
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