May 11, 2023

FRANCE: Controversial Pedophilic Painting Vandalized At Palais de Tokyo Museum In Paris. President Macron Defended The Artist.

Le Monde News, France local
written by Le Monde staff with AFP
Monday May 8, 2023

Critics have said the victim in the painting depicts a child, which Swiss artist Miriam Cahn has denied, claiming it's a representation of rape as a weapon of war and crime against humanity.

A controversial painting by Swiss artist Miriam Cahn on display at a Paris exhibition was vandalised with spray paint on Sunday, May 7, the Palais de Tokyo contemporary art museum said. The painting entitled Fuck abstraction!, on display since mid-February, shows a person with their hands tied behind their back being forced to perform oral sex on a faceless, powerful man.

Critics have said the victim in the painting depicts a child, which Cahn has denied, claiming it it is a representation of rape as a weapon of war and a crime against humanity. Several children's rights groups had denounced the painting as child pornography, calling for it to be withdrawn. But their bid to have it removed was rejected in the French courts.

On Sunday, a man "deliberately degraded" the work "by projecting paint" in purple, the museum told Agence France-Presse. The man, a source with direct knowledge of the investigation, was "unhappy with the sexual portrayal of a child and an adult presented in the painting" but was not affiliated with an activist group.

He "was immediately apprehended by security agents... and taken away by police," the museum said, adding it would file a complaint for damage to property and obstruction of freedom of expression.

Rima Abdul Malak, France's culture minister, said the artwork, as presented in this context, had been approved to be presented to the public by the justice system. "We regret the extreme consequences of this controversy," said Guillaume Desanges, president of the Palais de Tokyo, adding the institution aimed to "support art... with enthusiasm, awareness and responsibility toward all audiences."

"In agreement with the artist, the Palais de Tokyo will continue to present the painting and the exposition," which has attracted 80,000, "with traces of the damage until the end of the season, May 14," it said in a statement.

France's highest administrative court, the Conseil d'Etat, dismissed a legal bid to have the painting taken down in April. Given that the painting was displayed in an art gallery "accompanied by detailed contextual information, [it] does not seriously or clearly unlawfully harm the best interests of the child or the dignity of the human person," it ruled.

The artist herself hit back at criticism of the work, in a statement issued by the museum in March. "They are not children," Cahn insisted. "This painting deals with the way in which sexuality is used as a weapon of war, as a crime against humanity," she added.

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Le Monde News
written by Le Monde with AFP
Monday May 8, 2023

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, May 8, condemned the vandalism at a Paris exhibition of a controversial painting that critics see as depicting pedophilia.

The painting by Swiss artist Miriam Cahn, entitled "Fuck abstraction!", was covered in purple spray paint on Sunday at the Palais de Tokyo contemporary art museum, where it has been on display since mid-February.

It shows a small person with their hands tied behind their back being forced to perform oral sex on a larger, faceless, powerful man. Cahn says it is a representation of rape as a weapon of war and a crime against humanity but a number of children's rights groups have denounced it as child pornography and pedophilia.

On Twitter, Macron "condemned the act of vandalism carried out yesterday" at the Palais de Tokyo. "Targeting a work of art is an attack on our values. In France, art is always free and respect for artistic creation is guaranteed," he said. Legal bids to have the painting removed were rejected in French courts.

The perpetrator of the spray paint attack was "unhappy with the sexual portrayal of a child and an adult presented in the painting" but was not affiliated with an activist group, a source with knowledge of the investigation told Agence France-Presse.

The Palais de Tokyo said it would keep the painting on show with traces of the damage visible. The exhibition, which ends on May 14, has attracted 80,000 so far.

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