Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
Sweden's minister of culture Lena Adelsohn Lilijeroth has been facing calls for her resignation after her attendance at a World Art Day celebration where she "was invited to open the festivities by performing a clitoridectomy on the cake, which she did by slicing off the part of the cake depicting female genitalia. She then proceeded to feed that part of the cake to a performance artist, done up in blackface, his head protruding through the table."
When I came across this story yesterday, I was speechless. I took a day to process it, hoping that I'd be able to make some sense of it in a day's time. That hasn't happened. I still don't understand why anyone thought this was a good idea.
Meanwhile, the artist behind the cake defends his work as being "misunderstood." And what does the minister of culture have to say for herself? She's argued that the anger over the "misinterpreted" incident is misplaced and should be directed at the artist, not her.
Those Europeans: always on the cutting edge of culture.
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Comments:
Mar '11
Re: Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
Exactly.
Jun '10
Re: Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
Amy Schley: In the spirit of really awful political cakes, I give you Lenin-cake!
http://www.cakewrecks.com/home/2009/7/21/im-guessing-they-didnt-have-a-matching-card.html
Third one down. · 12 minutes ago
And they ate it. I wonder if, after eating it, one gets the irresistible urge to destroy kulaks.
Jun '10
Re: Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
Here's something that we might learn from this: the moment a country decides it needs a Minister of Culture is the same moment it no longer has a culture worthy of the name.
Feb '12
Re: Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
I'm trying to think of something witty to say, but I can't. I will, however, say that I can't begin to imagine what the baker of this cake was thinking. I didn't see the pre-mutilation pictures, if any, of the cake. But I assume it was anatomically correct. That means that the baker/decorator of the cake had to spend a fair amount of time to ensure the soon to be masticated area was properly formed, all the while contemplating whatever deeply meaningful thought was going to be expressed by this act.
A waste of good cake, if you ask me.
And does it matter that the eater is black? Was the slicer? Does that matter? I've never thought about politically correct racial matters in the context of confectionery hatchet jobs.
Oh, and is this anti-cannibal? Is it still okay to be anti-cannibal?
Lastly, I wonder how many publications Derb could get fired from writing about what he'd tell his daughter to do if she walked into a room and saw this scene. While initially you would think "none," I bet he could figure out a way.
Mar '11
Re: Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
Diane, can we suspend the CoC for a moment so we can all scream "HOLY _ !" ?
Jun '10
Re: Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
Upon further reflection... I don't think I'm nearly as offended or disturbed by this as most of you seem to be. I agree that it's crass, inappropriate, and not in any meaningful sense of the word "art."
But I do think, in its rather clumsy way, it was intended as a critique of the abhorrent practice of clitoridectomy. Whereas so much of what passes for avant-garde art these days (Maplethorpe, Serrano, Chris Ofili, Tracey Emin, etc.) is just purely nihilistic, provocative for the sake of being provocative, this "artist" was at least trying to make a point and perhaps make the world a better place.
So overall a D- for effort, even though the execution was poor.
Mar '11
Re: Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
Firing would not be unduly harsh, but it would be unduly respectful. Instead, both the artist and the minister should have to write "I am an idiot. What was I thinking?" 1000 times on the board.
Mar '11
Re: Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
Joseph Stanko: Upon further reflection... I don't think I'm nearly as offended or disturbed by this as most of you seem to be. I agree that it's crass, inappropriate, and not in any meaningful sense of the word "art."
But I do think, in its rather clumsy way, it was intended as a critique of the abhorrent practice of clitoridectomy. Whereas so much of what passes for avant-garde art these days (Maplethorpe, Serrano, Chris Ofili, Tracey Emin, etc.) is just purely nihilistic, provocative for the sake of being provocative, this "artist" was at leasttryingto make a point and perhaps make the world a better place.
So overall a D- for effort, even though the execution was poor. · 11 minutes ago
Joseph, the next time I'm in California I would like to have lunch with you and Peter Robinson so I can bathe in the infinite font of your kindness.
May '10
Re: Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
disgusting. As I read Swedish I tried to look up the comment in Swedish media. It is a mess of resignation demands, apologies and pc talk.My suspicion is that the minister (who is right wing with Swedish standards) made a very stupid mistake when trying to fit in with progessive artists. Why she felt the need to do that beats me. Most Swedes would agree with comments expressed here on Ricochet
Jul '10
Re: Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
I'm not so sure. My first thought was that this was to show acceptance in Sweden of that abhorrent practice with the Minister of Culture representing a gov't that presumably sanctions the practice within the Muslim community. In the name of multiculturalism, we embrace you and all that your culture represents.
No, that's multiculturalism run amok - in the most vile way.
Jun '10
Re: Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
barbara lydick
I'm not so sure. My first thought was that this was to show acceptance in Sweden of that abhorrent practice with the Minister of Culture representing a gov't that presumably sanctions the practice within the Muslim community. In the name of multiculturalism, we embrace you and all that your culture represents.
No, that's multiculturalism run amok - in the most vile way. · 2 minutes ago
Did you watch the video? The "artist" screams in mock pain every time a piece of cake is cut. That's an endorsement of the practice?
Jun '10
Re: Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
Casey
Joseph, the next time I'm in California I would like to have lunch with you and Peter Robinson so I can bathe in the infinite font of your kindness. · 20 minutes ago
Kindness, or dark pessimism? My main point was that what passes for high art these days is already so degraded that a work such as this manages to slightly exceed my abysmally low expectations.
You've mistaken me for a Kanga when I'm really an Eyore.
Sep '10
Re: Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
Earlier today the "yuck" factor was invoked as a moral barricade. Its not a barricade; its a traffic cone. All that's missing from this ghoulish scene is a corrupt aristocrat to tell all his subjects to say "let them eat cake."
Mar '11
Re: Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
Joseph Stanko
Casey
Joseph, the next time I'm in California I would like to have lunch with you and Peter Robinson so I can bathe in the infinite font of your kindness. · 20 minutes ago
Kindness, or dark pessimism? My main point was that what passes for high art these days is already so degraded that a work such as this manages to slightly exceed my abysmally low expectations.
You've mistaken me for a Kanga when I'm really an Eyore. · 9 minutes ago
OH good... now this I can understand.... I guess we can still get together and try to bring Peter down
May '10
Re: Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
Whatever this is, it is not art.
May '11
Re: Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
It's not being mentioned anywhere, but the artist who made the cake (and performed as the 'head') is Makode Aj Linde... who is actually black. Not that it makes the cake any less tasteless, but it does add a slightly different perspective to things.
Feb '11
Re: Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
Not to me. It is still nauseating and repulsive. As is clitoridectomy.
If the Minister had any discernment or wisdom, she would have said, "No way" when asked to be the person to cut the cake. But if she had those virtues she might not have been Minister of Culture in the first place.
Jul '10
Re: Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
Joseph Stanko
barbara lydick
I'm not so sure. My first thought was that this was to show acceptance in Sweden of that abhorrent practice with the Minister of Culture representing a gov't that presumably sanctions the practice within the Muslim community. In the name of multiculturalism, we embrace you and all that your culture represents.
No, that's multiculturalism run amok - in the most vile way. · 2 minutes ago
Did you watch the video? The "artist" screams in mock pain every time a piece of cake is cut. That's an endorsement of the practice? · 3 hours ago
No, I didn't watch the video. The subject was just too, well too much. And commenting as I did without watching wasn't the thing to do.
After watching tho, I'm as sickened as I was just reading Diane's piece.
May '10
Re: Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
My first thought was that it reminded me of the armadillo groom's cake in Steel Magnolias. I find most people's outrage more interesting than the actual work. My reaction is a bit different - I find it a little derivative. I'm sure the artist was trying to make a point about the horrors of genital mutilation and perhaps the industrialized world's complacency concerning the practice. Performance artists using their bodies to project pain and/or sexuality as social or political commentary has been around for decades, but it's still popular. One of my former classmates from grad school hit the "big time" after she moved from photography to performance art. In one work, she had a tattoo artist write (using a needle, without ink) the names of victims of gay hate crimes all over her body. With each name, a piece of paper absorbed the name written in blood. Her "Blood Script" was purchased by the Hirshhorn Museum. You can see it and other works here. She was a really nice person, so I don't begrudge her success, but I do wish that high-concept shock art didn't dominate the art world.
Oct '11
Re: Swedish Minister of Culture Performs Cake Clitoridectomy
WOW! I wouldn't be able to eat a cake if someone was screaming like that. Not Funny, and not Art. Very strange.