When diplomats become critics, bad things happen…

Swedish artists Gunilla Skoeld Feiler (L) and Israeli born Dror Feiler stand behind their restored art installation, called Snow White in Stockholm's Museum of National Antiquities courtyard.(AFP/Sven  Nackstrand) Yahoo! News – Sweden and Israel in furious diplomatic row over art scandal: “The artwork was designed by Israeli-born Dror Feiler and his Swedish wife Gunilla Skoeld Feiler, both of whom denied the work was a ‘glorification’ of the suicide bomber. Swedish press reports said Israel has threatened to withdraw from the “Stockholm International Forum — Preventing Genocide” conference, which is to take place January 26-28 with representatives from 60 countries in attendance.”

“The dispute erupted Friday after Israel’s ambassador to Sweden, Zvi Mazel, was thrown out of Stockholm’s Museum of National Antiquities for vandalising an art work showing the photo of the suicide bomber who killed 21 Israelis at a restaurant in northern Israel in October. The ambassador was caught on videotape tearing down one of the spotlights and throwing it into the water, causing the installation to short-circuit. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Sunday backed Mazel’s actions. Mazel has defended his actions, saying: ‘This is not art, this is a monstrous glorification of suicide bombers and an incitement to genocide against the Israeli people.'” [The artwork as shown is a sailboat in a pool of “blood” with the female bomber’s face on the sail.]

This is disturbing. What did Mazel do, go find a ladder, disconnect a light fixture and toss it? Do they have no guards? Of course, those with diplomatic immunity seem to get away with things others are not able to. I remember the former N. Miami Chief of Police walking through MoCA at its inaugural telling me, a museum staff employee and chief of museum security, that he could touch whatever art he wanted because he had a “piece” on his hip.

Anyway, what happened with going to the museum curator and finding out about the work? It seems obvious that an international museum hosting an exhibition in conjunction with an international conference on the same subject would be some kind of clue. What happened to speaking with director and requesting its removal, if the work was so personally offensive? But then, I’m not a Zionist.

[added material: 23hr00] There was a video accompanying this article that I was not able to see until much later in the evening (after I got off work where I originally posted this). The diplomat calmly, yet internally seething, walked up to the outdoor installed work, turned off the two lights and we hear sounds of one of the light stands being knocked over. He was then escorted out of the museum during which time there was dialogue in both Swedish and English in bitter tones.

I was able to see the work well enough in the video to see in reality, it was rather a weak piece visually. I looked like a student work: exploration of an idea with poor materials, setup quickly with whatever is immediately available, and left for viewing. However, the artists are standing behind the work in the above image.

Anyone who has a problem with artwork on exhibition should speak to those in charge and not take things into their own hands. Even though this work was not greatly damaged, because of its poor materials, there are ways to handle complaints other than the angry and violent way this diplomat did.