Thursday, April 19, 2012

"Painful Cake"

On April 15, 2012, Swedish Culture Minister, Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, attended a exhibition  at Museum of Modern Art of Stockholm to celebrate ‘World Art Day'.

A shocking exhibition entitled "Painful Cake" is shocking the art world.

















Swedish artist Makode Linde created a black face cake which is meant to represent a woman about to undergo female genital mutilation. Linde lays his own head down at the top of the cake. As audience members cut the cake, starting at the vagina; he screams.

According to Global Voices, the minister cut the cake and then whispered “Your life will be better after this”. Kitimbwa Sabuni, spokesperson for the National Afro-Swedish Association has asked the Minister to resign..

Fair Warning: What You Are About to See is Extreme.


"Painful Cake"

Linde has been pegged as a racist. Recently he responded to criticisms on YouTube.


How Have People Responded To You and Your Art Installation?  

"I think a lot of people saw some images taken during the performance and they saw the images online and took the images out of context. They accused me and the culture minister to be racist against racist criticizing different aspects of just the subject. So I think people who have been upset, about the art piece or about the images they seen, I think that they misunderstood the intention or the agenda of me as an artist."

I don't doubt that the artist's intentions are good. Even so; shocking does not always equate to thought provoking and alluringly daring.. This piece misses the mark.

I'm not sure what the artist was trying to convey, but it strikes me as odd/horrific that anyone would feel comfortable cutting that cake. Cutting the cake is meant to be symbolic of circumcision so I am flabbergasted that anyone would want to participate.

Perhaps some felt obligated as cutting the cake is what is expected. Perhaps some wanted to eat cake. Perhaps some felt uncomfortable with the seriousness of the piece combined with the awkward presence of a screaming person. We sometimes refuse to go against the grain when embarrassed.

OR; perhaps for some, ignorance is bliss.

Many are claiming that this piece is racist and anti-woman. Again, I do not believe this is the intent of the artist but I do agree that this cake is tasteless. No pun intended.

The installation was frightening and that may have been the point. Art doesn't necessarily need to teach but sometimes it is meant to simply reflect an issue. Is it possible that the artist wanted those cutting the cake to ask themselves why they felt comfortable cutting it?

We may never know and ultimately it isn't up to the artist to define or explain his art. It is up to us to respond, react, identify, define, let go or take with us.

The artist has me thinking and that is always positive. Even so, the art piece is violent and ultimately the wrong way to put forth an idea.

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