Pope Angered Over Crucified Frog “Art”

I was sorta disappointed when I first saw the art in question. I thought the crucified frog would be a real frog and look like one of those classy taxidermy frog souvenirs from places where novelty amphibian taxidermy can feed the kids. The art in question has sorta grown on me. I can see it as a self portrait.

However, I can also see the Popes point. As God’s mouthpiece he’s gotta stick up and defend his racket and it’s non copyrighted symbols.  Even if deep down inside, as a German, the Pope knows the feeling of wanting the beer thats in your hand but just not being able to reach it. Ack!

Kudos for the museum for sticking to their guns and keeping the art up. But c’mon, I gotta call bullshit on their description of the piece as “representing human anguish.”  The passion of the happy hour you missed is more like it. For sure, this piece of art is not worth hunger striking over,  Franz Pahl, you need a hobby, or maybe this press is perfect for an election year.

This is Art.

This is Art.

This is not art.

Pope’s call for ‘blasphemous’ frog to be removed from museum refused
www.telegraph.co.uk  |  Last Updated: 5:46PM BST 28 Aug 2008

Pope Benedict’s request to have the sculpture of a crucified green frog holding a beer mug and an egg removed from display in an Italian museum has been rebuffed.

The board of the Museion museum in the northern city of Bolzano has refused to take down the modern art piece which the Vatican has condemned as blasphemous.

A majority vote decided that the wooden sculpture by the late German artist Martin Kippenberger should remain.

The sculpture called “Zuerst die Fusse”, meaning Feet First, depicts a frog of about four feet high nailed to a brown cross holding a beer mug in one outstretched hand and an egg in another.

The frog wears a green loin cloth and is nailed through the hands and feet in the manner of Jesus Christ while its tongue hangs out of its mouth.

Museum staff said the artist, who died in 1997, considered the sculpture a self-portrait representing human anguish.

However, the German Pope did not agree and the Vatican wrote a letter to the regional government, whose President, Franz Pahl, went on hunger strike in opposition to the frog and had to be taken to hospital.

The Vatican’s letter said the amphibian “wounded the religious sentiments of so many people who see in the cross the symbol of God’s love”.

However, Claudio Strinati, a superintendent for Rome’s museums, defended the decision to keep the frog.

“Art must always be free and the artist should not have any restrictions on freedom of expression,” he said.