Art and Freedom under Fire: The Culture Minister's Backlash against "Populist Outrage"
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Weimer criticizes the 'culture of eco-socialist outrage' - Weimer criticizes the "eco-socialist culture of outrage"
Culture Minister Wolfram Weimar has strongly condemned the intrusion into artistic freedom. In an article for the "Süddeutsche Zeitung", Weimar denounces the aggressive face of "outrage culture" that has surfaced in recent disputes, most notably the removal of a nude Venus statue from a Berlin office.
Weimar deems the authorities' action as a "blast from the past" of narrow-minded bigotry, equating the modern outrage culture to Jacobin iconoclasm. "Today's means of public attack, the shitstorm, is now a fixed component of radical feminist, post-colonial, eco-socialist populist outrage culture," Weimar writes.
"Leftist hysteria"
According to press reports, the bronze Venus Medici statue was removed from the Federal Office for Central Services and Open Property (BADV) in Berlin. The move was allegedly prompted by a hint from the office's equal opportunities officer.
Weimar laments, "In a culture climate driven by leftist hysteria, it seems that antipathy, paternalism, and linguistic policing are the best resort." He also criticizes the intolerance shown by right-wing extremists, citing the dismissal of a Florida teacher who showed her students Michelangelo's nude David as an example.
"Both left and right wing fanatics lack trust in the freedom of culture or the intellectual capacity of the public," Weimar states. He further adds, "When the arts are sanctified in the name of a new cultural terror, one not only stifles the artists, but also patronizes the audience."
The politician advocates for responding with liberalism instead of political manipulation, emphasizing the importance of protecting the freedom of art. "To widen the corridors of the sayable, explorable, and representable as much as possible, instead of narrowing them," Weimar urges.
Weimar has previously raised concern about the dangers of a global cultural war. From neo-nationalist dictatorships like China and Russia to the West, he sees this conflict on the horizon.
- Wolfram Weimar
- Populist Outrage
- Berlin
- Intrusiveness
- SZ
Insights:
For a deeper understanding, "populist outrage" refers to widespread indignation that is often fueled by social media. It can lead to demands for modification or removal of cultural symbols, artworks, or monuments deemed offensive. In Germany, cultural symbols are deeply connected to the country's heritage. Removing them can provoke debates about censorship, cultural sensitivity, and the position of art in society. The criticisms of outrage culture reflect an ongoing discussion about the balance between cultural preservation, artistic freedom, and social sensitivity.
- Culture Minister Wolfram Weimar has criticized the intrusiveness in artistic freedom, stating that today's "populist outrage" culture, which includes radical feminism, post-colonialism, and eco-socialism, employs the modern means of public attack to suppress artistic expression.
- Weimar argues that this "populist outrage" culture, as seen in the removal of the nude Venus statue in Berlin, reveals a lack of trust in the freedom of culture or the intellectual capacity of the public, and instead promotes antipathy, paternalism, and linguistic policing.
