Say Anything Blog

Okay, here’s a real conundrum.

I don’t know which set of idiots to condemn the most here. Let’s see, there is the set that decided that showing animals being bludgeoned to death with a sledge hammer and calling it “art” is the first to choose from. How is this a good idea?

Citing threats of violence by animal rights activists, the San Francisco Art Institute said Saturday that it is canceling a controversial exhibition that included video clips of animals being bludgeoned to death, as well as a public forum it had scheduled to address the controversy.

“We’ve gotten dozens of threatening phone calls that targeted specific staff people with death threats, threats of violence and threats of sexual assaults,” said Art Institute President Chris Bratton. “We remain committed to freedom of speech as fundamental to this institution, but we have to take people’s safety very seriously.”

The exhibit that sparked the controversy was a one-person show by Paris artist Adel Abdessemed called “Don’t Trust Me,” which opened March 19.

Along with a variety of other elements, the show included a series of video loops of animals being bludgeoned to death with a sledgehammer in front of a brick wall. The animals killed included a pig, goat, deer, ox, horse and sheep.

Art? That’s art ? But then, this is the same mentality that thought putting a crucifix in a jar of urine was somehow an artistic statement, so nothing should be surprising coming from a pack of psuedo-intellectual “artists” who think their artistic statements, no matter how offensive, are inspired thought and that if you don’t get it, well, then, you’re just an unwashed barbarian.

Killing animals on video and calling it art? I don’t get it, so call me anything you want. It’s stupid and unnecessary.

And speaking of stupid and unnecessary, here’s the other group that deserves condemnation in this whole ridiculous thing - the animal rights activists that started making threats. Look, I understand not liking what the artist did and not liking the imbeciles at the gallery who decided to show it, but I don’t understand statements like this:

But then the tone of some of the e-mails turned violent, Bratton said, with threats against individual staff members, such as, “We’re going to gather up your children and bludgeon their heads.” Officials decided to shutter the exhibition permanently, the first time in the institute’s 137-year history that a show was closed for safety reasons. They also canceled the forum.

Nice, eh? There is something seriously disturbed about anyone who would even think like that, much less actually make that kind of threat to someone, anyone, even an idiot artist.

What this boils down to is, to steal a phrase, a “perfect storm” of liberal lunacy. And ordinarily it would be fun to watch these two groups devour each other like starving rats but.....thinking that showing film of animals being bludgeoned to death is art, and thinking that threatening someone’s children with the same is justified?

I don’t understand either thing and I hope to God I never do.

There’s something seriously wrong with both sides.