Blasphemous art?
28 August 2008 by Stardust
Italian museum defies pope over crucified frog
The Catholics are crying persecution again over what they see as a blasphemous mockery of a symbol of “God’s love”. 
Boo-fucking-hoo! The wooden cross was a bloody, gruesome execution device, people! Wake up!
ROME (Reuters) – An Italian museum on Thursday defied Pope Benedict and refused to remove a modern art sculpture portraying a crucified green frog holding a beer mug and an egg that the Vatican had condemned as blasphemous.
The board of the Museion museum in the northern city of Bolzano decided by a majority vote that the frog was a work of art and would stay in place for the remainder of an exhibition.
The wooden sculpture by the late German artist Martin Kippenberger depicts a frog about 1 metre 30 cm (4 feet) high nailed to brown cross and holding a beer mug in one outstretched hand and an egg in another.
Called “Zuerst die Fuesse,” (Feet First), it wears a green loin cloth and is nailed through the hands and the feet in the manner of Jesus Christ. Its green tongue hangs out of its mouth.
*snip*
Pope Benedict, who is German himself and was recently on holiday not far from Bolzano, obviously did not agree.
The Vatican wrote a letter of support in the pope’s name to Franz Pahl, president of the regional government who opposed the sculpture. Pahl released parts of the letter, which said the work “wounds the religious sentiments of so many people who see in the cross the symbol of God’s love”.
Pahl, whose province is heavily Catholic, was so outraged by the sculpture of the pop-eyed amphibian that he went on a hunger strike to demand its removal and had to be taken to hospital during the summer.
“Surely this is not a work of art but a blasphemy and a disgusting piece of trash that upsets many people,” Pahl told Reuters by telephone.
“This decision to keep the statue there is totally unacceptable. It is a grave offence to our Catholic population,” he said.
Art experts defended the work.
“Art must always be free and the artist should not have any restrictions on freedom of expression,” Claudio Strinati, a superintendent for Rome’s state museums, told an Italian newspaper on Thursday.
I think this froggie is amusing, and think it’s even funnier how superstitious people get their panties in such a knot so as to make themselves sick over one person’s artistic expression. When they do this they draw even bigger attention to the artwork. I am sure the artists welcome their public protests.
28 August 2008, on 11:48 am
I’m sure he would love all the attention Bennedict and his cronies draw to his art, but he’s probably burning in hell for making such rude, offensive trash, doncha know…
It pisses me off that nothing in this world, NOTHING, is safe from the childish outcries of religious idiots. They are like spoiled brats who have to piss and moan to get attention. You know, for having SO much faith in a belief that makes them SO happy, it would seem trivial shit like a frog sculpture wouldn’t make a goddamn bit of difference.
28 August 2008, on 12:06 pm
You know, for having SO much faith in a belief that makes them SO happy, it would seem trivial shit like a frog sculpture wouldn’t make a goddamn bit of difference.
benjamin, exactly! They say their love their imaginary friend so much, but they pay so much more attention to what everyone in the world is doing. We never see such outcry from the religious folks over people not helping the poor, the sick and the dying. Starving and abused children. Orphans. There is no big outcry about that. But a little green froggie on a piece of wood sends them to the hospital in terrible grief. That is totally fucked up.
28 August 2008, on 2:46 pm
Cute little froggie. Wonder what he did to get crucified?
I am loving that he has the Catolicks in a whirl over his predicament, especially after reading the post about the guy manhandled by cops for trying to go take a piss during GodBleedAmurricuh.
As if Christ was the only person ever to be put up on one of those wooden crosses, and the xian world has the trade mark on it and no one else better use it for anything-anything I tells ye!
So I wonder if Franz is going to stick to his hunger strike, now that the museum has told him he can “stuff it,” in so many words? Maybe he’d like a mug o’ brew and an egg of his own before long?
28 August 2008, on 3:12 pm
I’m not surprised. When the whole Muslim cartoon thing hit the fan they were on the frontlines AGAINST free expression and speech.
By their “logic”, every religion can scream persecution whenever they put up the ten commandments, a cross, or whatever.
Hmm, I like that.
28 August 2008, on 4:18 pm
I don’t know why they’re making a stink. I’m a kermitthefrogist and I’m not offended.
28 August 2008, on 6:55 pm
I’m a kermitthefrogist and I’m not offended.
LOL…
28 August 2008, on 7:25 pm
I’ve always found it bemusing that the Christian symbol of “God’s love” is an ancient torture device.
28 August 2008, on 10:03 pm
IT’S JUST A FREAKIN’ CRACK–
Oh, wait, wrong catlicks-getting-their-panties-in-a-wad-over-an-inanimate-object issue…
IT’S JUST A FREAKIN’ PIECE OF WOOD!
29 August 2008, on 9:01 am
“Cute little froggie. Wonder what he did to get crucified?”
Not only kissed but deflowered a young maiden without ever once turning into a Prince?
For Carlos: What’s green and smells like bacon?
Kermit the Frog’s finger!
I’ll be here all week.
29 August 2008, on 9:46 am
I get a kick out of the phrase “defied pope benny”
The only place the vatican boy f**kers brigade has any pull is in the bell tower.
[apologies to Quasimodo]
29 August 2008, on 10:09 am
Comment by MoxieHart over at Pharyngula:
“I don’t want to see how pissed these people get when they see a scarecrow, they’re often crucified.”
I was thinking the same thing.
29 August 2008, on 11:54 am
This stupid brouha (another in a never ending line?) reminds me, personally, of how the Cat-licks…and ALL Xtians…(skipping the Jews & Muslims for the moment) NEVER consider the basic story that a supposed “Almighty, Loving Gawd” would even dream up the totally ridiculous creation story of two “Eternally intended” dummies in a garden; with a talking snake (a Reptillian?) and who are then instantly BLAMED, and sentenced…along with their generational BILLIONS of progeny (including us, of course) to eternal misery…just for making one…predictable…totally set-up…disobedient “choice”. As if there ever was a choice in the whole insane, stupid scene! Some loving parent, this Gawd asshole was!
THEN…this almighty, “All Knowing”, Ultra-spoiled, Ultra-mean-spirited, pathological retard; instead of simply forgiving the two poor idiots (and giving them Knowledge?); decides on the “brilliant plan” of sending the “Son” portion of the Celestial (Three-in-one) Trio (the Bass player?) down to the much further along in time…a much more miserable planetary scene, by then, of course…to be nailed to a cross, no less, by descended numskulls of the original mindless dingbats. [Yeah, I know...I'm skipping a lot here!]
Ok…here’s the kicker…
The story, taken as a basic scenario…never mind all the additional bullshit dreamed up by commentators on the already vicious Buybull text…is, in reality, a totally outrageous demonstration of Mankind’s ability to fabricate, boldface lie to, brainwash, , and persecute one another on the basis of totally obnoxious, inanley stupid, fucked over, to nth degree…
Cosmological Bullshit! Fucking “Abra-hamschlock” Religions!
Ok…tangentially…Now I’m even feeling sorry for all the poor frogs!
[I never eat frog legs, by the way! And I just flashed on my 2nd year High School Biology Lab.]
Yeah…And I love Kermit, too (since 1969, no less)!
What’s that?…
“Kermit thee frog, here!” And Miss Piggy too? And…
29 August 2008, on 1:27 pm
I think they go after this type of “blasphemy” because they don’t have to commit any resources to fighting it. All they have to do is bitch and cry, which is free. Helping the poor, needy and undesirable requires spending money. We all know that they hate spending their money on anything that is not dedicated to getting converts.
29 August 2008, on 2:57 pm
How arrogant can Pope Ratzo be? He assumes that every frog is catholic.
29 August 2008, on 9:47 pm
It’s hard to imagine the mind that considers this significant.
29 August 2008, on 10:19 pm
Pahl released parts of the letter, which said the work “wounds the religious sentiments of so many people who see in the cross the symbol of God’s love”.
So? Everything the Catholic Church says wounds my rational sentiments, but I don’t see anyone making any special accommodations (nor would I ask them to.)
There’s a simple solution of course: Don’t fucking go to the museum.
But for folks like this, the very existence of “blasphemous” sentiments is too much. Upon examination, their true sentiments come to the fore: These folks will not be happy until apostasy is erradicated (I’m sure some would be comfortable if this was done by any means necessary.)
29 August 2008, on 10:54 pm
And if God was real and was totally offended as his followers are, he would smite the ones defending the blasphemous crucified amphibian statue. According to the mythology book, the God of the OT would wipe the whole entire museum off the face of the earth. Why would a god need weirdass pompous humans who wear flowing robes and funny pointy hats to defend him?