Entropa


Entropa is a sculpture by Czech artist David Černý. The project was commissioned by the Czech government to mark the occasion of its presidency of the Council of the European Union, and was originally designed as a collaboration for 27 artists and artist groups from all member countries of the European Union. However, as a hoax, Černý and three of his assistants created a satirical and controversial piece that depicted pointed stereotypes of the EU member nations. Fake artist profiles were also created by Černý and his accomplices, complete with invented descriptions of their supposed contributions. The title puns on entropy and Europa.
The sculpture was unveiled informally on 12 January 2009, followed by its official media launch date three days later. The sculpture was originally on display in the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels. Between September 2010 and March 2012, the sculpture was on exhibit at the Techmania Science Center in Plzeň. A copy of the sculpture has also been planned for the Nová Scéna cafe in the National Theatre in Prague.

Background

The Council of the European Union adheres to a rotational presidency system, whereby the governments of member countries exchange leadership every six months. It is customary for the presiding country to place an exhibit in the Justus Lipsius building, with past works avoiding controversy. For example, France, which had held the presidency before the Czech Republic, simply erected a large balloon in the French national colours in honor of the tradition.

Theme

Entropa is an ironic jab at the issue of European integration and the stereotypes associated with each country within the European Union. It is subtitled '"Stereotypes are barriers to be demolished", along with the Czech European Union Presidency's motto of "Europe without barriers". According to David Černý, the sculpture's primary artist, Entropa "lampoons the socially activist art that balances on the verge between would-be controversial attacks on national character and undisturbing decoration of an official space". In an interview with The Times, Černý stated that the sculpture was influenced by the Monty Python brand of humour. At the launch ceremony, he added Sacha Baron Cohen and Les Guignols de l'infos portrayal of Nicolas Sarkozy as other influences.
The work is made of glass-reinforced plastic and the joints of steel. It covers approximately, measuring high and wide. Three-quarters of the weight comes from the frame, making up a combined total of 8 tonnes. It resembles the parts of a model kit, containing pieces in the shapes of the 27 member states of the EU. Each piece has a distinctive theme that portrays stereotypes about the country, some of which are portrayed in a particularly provocative manner. Among the pieces which have attracted the most attention are those of Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Poland, and Slovakia.
The sculpture was installed between 5 and 11 January 2009 in the presence of David Černý, three assistants, four climbers, two technicians, two cameramen and a representative of the Czech Permanent Representation to the EU.

Nations included in the sculpture

With no clear indication made by the artist nor by the official presentation, various interpretations of a single country can be drawn, and this list is by no means definite. Some of the physical pieces differ slightly from the form presented in the official booklet:
  • Austria, a known opponent of atomic energy, is depicted as a green field dominated by nuclear power plant cooling towers with vapour coming out of them at intervals.
  • Belgium is presented as a box of half-eaten Praline chocolates with the pattern of Brussels waffles.
  • Bulgaria is depicted by a series of connected "Turkish" squat toilets with neon lights connecting and illuminating them. This piece of the sculpture was later hidden with fabric.
  • Cyprus is cut in half, referencing the partition of Cyprus.
  • Czech Republic own piece is an LED display, which flashes controversial quotations by Czech President Václav Klaus.
  • Denmark is depicted as being built out of Lego bricks, and some claim to see in the depiction a face reminiscent of the cartoon controversy, though the resemblance has been denied by Černý.
  • Estonia is presented with power tools resembling a hammer and sickle, citing the country's consideration of a ban on Communist symbols.
  • Finland is depicted as a wooden floor including a male with a rifle lying down, imagining an elephant, a hippo and a crocodile.
  • France is draped in a "GRÈVE!" banner, referencing France's history of industrial action.
  • Germany is a series of interlocking Autobahns with cars moving about on them, described as "somewhat resembling a swastika", though the statement is not universally accepted. Some Czech military historians also suggest that the autobahns resemble the number "18", which some Neo-nazi groups use as code for A.H., the initials of Adolf Hitler.
  • Greece is depicted as a forest that has been entirely burned, possibly representing the 2007 Greek forest fires or the 2008 civil unrest in Greece.
  • Hungary features an Atomium consisting of watermelons and Hungarian sausages, based on a floor of peppers.
  • Ireland is depicted as a brown bog with bagpipes protruding from Northern Ireland. The bagpipes also play music in five-minute intervals.
  • Italy is depicted as a football pitch with several players who appear to be masturbating, possibly indicating what some see as the country's "fetish for football".
  • Latvia is shown as covered with mountains, in contrast to its actual flat landscape.
  • Lithuania includes a series of dressed Manneken Pis-style figures urinating, with the streams of urine being illuminated by yellow glass fibres.
  • Luxembourg is displayed as a gold nugget with a "For Sale" sign.
  • Malta is depicted as a tiny island with a prehistoric dwarf elephant, as well as a magnifying glass in front of the elephant.
  • The Netherlands is depicted as having disappeared under the sea with only several minarets still visible.
  • Poland has a piece with priests erecting the rainbow flag of the gay rights movement on a field of potatoes in the style of the famous photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.
  • Portugal is shown as a wooden cutting board with three pieces of meat in the shape of its former colonies of Brazil, Angola, and Mozambique.
  • Romania is a Dracula-style theme park, which is set up to blink and emit ghostly sounds at intervals.
  • Slovakia is depicted as a Hungarian sausage being strangled by a string.
  • Slovenia is shown as a rock engraved with the words "First Tourists Came Here, 1213".
  • Spain is covered entirely in concrete, with a concrete mixer situated in the north-east, referencing the heavy development on the Spanish Mediterranean coast.
  • Sweden, unlike the other pieces in the sculpture, does not have an outline, but is instead represented as a large IKEA-style self-assembly furniture box containing Gripen fighter planes.
  • The United Kingdom, known for its Euroscepticism and relative isolation from Europe, is "included" as a missing piece at the top-left of the sculpture.

    Reaction

Entropa has inspired debate in Europe since the day of its first unveiling. Various commentators have noted that this is probably the first such exhibition in the history of art displays on behalf of the rotary Presidency of the EU Council that has been controversial in nature, contrasted by the fact that such pieces usually go by unnoticed. The work drew what has been described by one reporter as "a never-before-seen crowd." It has been praised by some viewers for being "hilarious" and for inspiring discussion about art, but has angered and offended others.
In June 2009, David Černý himself said that he expected completely different reactions than those described below. In his opinion, Bulgaria doesn't even make it to the top three of the most provocative countries caricatured by Entropa. The most provocative country is Poland, with the reference to gays. It is followed by the UK and Slovakia that, according to Mr Černý, is a bubble restricted by Hungary.

Political controversy

On 13 January 2009, the day after the exhibit was informally unveiled, Bulgaria's ambassador to the EU registered the country's protest with the European Commission, and sent a formal protest note to the Czech government. Bulgaria's depiction in the sculpture, as a series of squat toilets, is one of the most provocative, and after the informal unveiling of Entropa, the Bulgarian government demanded that the sculpture be taken down before its official launching. This action was never taken, but after continuing complaints, the Bulgarian depiction was covered with black fabric on 20 January 2009. Individuals outside the government, as well, expressed outrage about the portrayal:
Bulgarian news portal News.bg commented that the country's deputy was "obviously interpreting idea as an insult attempt." A number of non-government organizations, including Polish Indeks 73, were opposed to covering part of the work and initiated online petitions.
Jan Vytopil, the man in charge of cultural events during the Czech EU Presidency, has defended the exhibit, arguing that the presence of a "squat toilet Bulgaria" in the presence of the other patently absurd depictions made it clear that the piece seeks to demolish stereotypes rather than cause controversy. Czech Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra also frequently stressed that the government committee which authorized the piece wanted to avoid censorship:
On 14 January 2009, the Slovak National Party called on Foreign Affairs Minister Ján Kubiš to demand the removal of the sculpture, calling it an offence to the Slovak nation. On 15 January 2009, Kubiš complied and lodged a formal protest, but did not demand the removal of the sculpture.
Given the controversial nature of the portrayals of other countries, Czech diplomats expected protests from other countries as well. However, these had yet to materialize. In fact, the public in Poland appeared to be largely in favour of Poland's portrayal, with 64% considering it "spot on" and only 13% thinking it "an insult to Polish people", according to an online poll by news portal TVN24.
Ole Molesby, the Danish Ambassador to the Czech Republic, stated that he did not expect the Mohammed caricature protests to begin anew, and that Denmark did not intend to complain. Černý denied that the similarity was intentional.