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Court passes guilty verdict in Russian art vs. religion case
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On Monday a court in Moscow delivered its guilty verdict to the organizers of the Forbidden Art exhibition, who were facing charges of inciting religious hatred by putting controversial pictures on public display. Yury Samodurov, the ex-director of the museum where the exhibition took place, and Andrey Erofeev, the former Head of the Tretyakov Gallery’s modern trends department, were fined about $6500 and $5000 respectively. The Prosecutor’s Office was seeking a three year prison sentence for both defendants for exhibiting “images which are derogatory and insulting to Christianity and religious people.” Samodurov has been convicted of similar charges before. In March, 2005, the court ordered him to pay a fine of approximately $3500. The exhibition "Forbidden Art – 2006" was shown in 2007 and displayed pictures previously banned from other Moscow galleries. The works showed religious images and symbols combined with everyday, popular culture objects. Among other controversial things, the visitors could see Jesus Christ with the head of Mickey Mouse, and a Muslim Marilyn Monroe. Some exhibits contained abusive language. The trial caused controversy in society. The church community was not unanimous about the sentence, but did not doubt the fact that the defendants are guilty. “It was not the Church that initiated this prosecution, but people who were offended. The investigation proved that the art pieces at this exhibit were offensive towards believers and incited religious hatred to an extent,” says Father Georgy Roshin. Artists and humans rights activists – as well as the directors of the Tretyakov Gallery and the State Center of Modern Art – were protesting against the trial, saying the trial is not about art, rather about politics, censorship and a curb on the freedom of expression. “I think that neither artists, nor curators, nor art in general should be punished under criminal law. Often people see in pictures something that the artist did not have in mind at all. Time also matters, and the next generation will not understand at all what the conflict was about,” said director general of the Tretyakov Gallery Irina Lebedeva in her interview to news agency Interfax. She pointed out that she herself had professional disputes with Erofeev, but noted that a creative person cannot be strictly controlled. “I think that this trial was premeditated. It was staged, and those believers who took part in it in fact never saw these pieces of art before,” says Aleksandr, an artist and a protestor. “Most likely it is an attempt to apply censorship to art and to once again create a tense and hostile environment in the social and cultural sphere. Art is a field where things are allowed. Experiments are going on in museums, in restricted areas. It doesn’t harm the public. If anyone disagrees, they are free not to watch, or give a verbal or any other kind of response,” he added. Journalist and writer Dmitry Bykov says the fine handed down to the organizers is fair. “I’m quite sure that this decision is really modest and really honest, because it could be much worse – the orthodox fundamentalists are really very dangerous. They insisted on real punishment connected with imprisonment,” he emphasized. On July 9, artists, human rights activists and members of the political movement Solidarnost held a protest in Moscow calling for a halt to the criminal proceedings against Erofeev and Samodurov. On Monday the court room was not the only scene of events. According to media reports, those protesting against the trial brought a shoebox full of giant cockroaches and let them creep into the building while opponents of controversial exhibition were chanting religious songs outside the court. RT
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