election day special: democracy gone to pot

What could be more apropos for the big election than the Internet simply abuzz with discussions of national funding and the arts; our friend at Superfluities, for example, has been considering the question of the National Endowment for the Arts, which these days only endows as much as other “endowment” products one can buy off the Internet or late-night television.

Since these arguments are already in circulation, I’m going to turn to another country’s artistic woes: Italy’s.  Naturally, the headline “Row over Italian toilet artwork,” caught my attention as I scoured for the latest poll results:

“A toilet which flushes to the sound of Italy's national anthem has been impounded by police in northern Italy, sparking great patriotic debate.  The offending loo was the creation of two artists and was on display at the Bolzano Museum of Modern Art.”

“Offending Loo,” incidentally, will be the name of my bluegrass-R&B band when I get around to forming one.

What’s most absurd is that I can’t take sides here: I certainly have the gut instinct to defend artistic expression and integrity.  Although a national anthem is an important symbol for any country, there’s no reason why one shouldn’t be able to use and distort it in the name of freedom of speech.  However, this doesn’t seem the issue so much as one on intellectual property, that of the Italian government (because the anthem couldn’t possibly belong to the people), more like Metallica fighting for money from Napster than a government preserving its heritage:

“Defence barristers for the museum argue that while the anthem does have patriotic and sentimental value, it is not a national symbol.”

But then again, the piece doesn’t even seem worth defending.  The toilet in art is hardly unknown to the art world, and this piece in particular seems incredibly facile and half-baked.  Needless to say, I’m sticking to my musical toilet seat which plays Styx’s “Come Sail Away” when flushed.

Of course one has to defend the right to expression, even if the art is crap (pardon the pun).  But this is no longer the case of the NEA Four or Robert Mapplethorpe, and we can't really afford to choose our battles consdering the current political climate.  A huge cultural lobotomy is in order: "Paging Dr. Tweed.  Dr. Tweed." Has a nice ring to it, no?

Which brings me to my public service announcement: if you haven’t already, dear readers, make sure you exercise your freedom in the most basic of ways today and ROCK THE VOTE—despite the fact you can’t vote to the rockin’ stylings of Offending Loo.  Yet.

Comments

[sharkskin girl]

Dr. Tweedlio, let us not overlook the significance the modern toilet has to all cultures. [After partaking of less-than-satisfactory varieties in Greece and Malaysia, I can attest to the intrinsic value of the well-designed flush and proper-sized pipes.] Really, I think this piece could be considered a compliment, both to the toilet and, frankly, to Italy.
Rockin' on,
sharkskin