Ruben Ostlund's film "The Square" draws on an installation he created in collaboration with film producer Kalle Boman. Beginning life in the design museum Vandolorum in Varnamo, Sweden, the piece was intended to promote altruism and highlight the social contract that underpins society. It became a sight for protests, gigs and marriage proposals, and is still popular today.
But what if "The Square" was misused? Subverting his own installation, Ostlund's latest film satirizes performance art and public art, exploring their divorce from reality.
Check out the gallery to discover other occasions when art has gone awry.
But what if "The Square" was misused? Subverting his own installation, Ostlund's latest film satirizes performance art and public art, exploring their divorce from reality.
Check out the gallery to discover other occasions when art has gone awry.
"The 3rd I" (2010) by Wafaa Bilal —
On Dec. 5, 2010, photography professor and artist Wafaa Bilal has a camera implanted in the back of his head for conceptual project "The 3rd I." The idea was that an image would be taken every minute for a year, and streamed live on the internet and a Qatar galler. Alas, a few months in, Bilal was forced to remove the titanium plate attached to his skull when his body rejected it, leaving the artist in constant pain.
"He Will Not Divide Us" (2017) by Shia LaBeouf —
Shia LaBeouf's latest venture, "He Will Not Divide Us," has lived a troubled life. Located outside the Museum of Moving Image in New York, the actor-turned-artist invited the public to speak into the camera and repeat the title in a show of unity in the wake of the 2016 US presidential election. LaBeouf was forced to shut down on Feb. 10 when it became a flashpoint for violence, resulting in multiple arrests. He moved the piece to New Mexico, where it was covered in spray paint and then closed less than a week in when gunshots were heard in the vicinity. It was then relocated to Liverpool, England, where it was shut down on police advice one day in after political protesters scaled the building and tried to tear down part of the installation.
"Forever Marilyn" (2011) by Seward Johnson —
The 26-foot "Forever Marilyn" sculpture recreated the scene when the actress gets caught in an updraft in "The Seven Year Itch." While that film preserved the star's modesty, Johnson's sculpture did not. On display in Chicago and Palm Springs, poor Marilyn was wheeled out for the masses, plenty of whom felt it necessary to capture an up-skirt shot.
"B Of The Bang" (2005) by Thomas Heatherwick —
Commissioned to celebrate the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002, the 184-foot burst of metal shards was supposed to represent a famous line by British sprinter Linford Christie, describing the moment he left the blocks. Six days before its unveiling, one of the steel spikes fell off. Month later another was found to have come loose and was removed by firefighters, then in 2006, another six removed for structural examination. In 2009, Manchester City Council sued Thomas Heatherwick Studio, and "B Of The Bang" was dismantled. Embarrassingly, it was reported in 2012 that the core of the $1.8-million sculpture was sold for scrap for $22,000.
"George Washington" (1832) by Horatio Greenough —
Even if you revere the first president of the United States, is it wise to portray his as a god? On the centenary of Washington's birth, Horatio Greenough was commissioned to sculpt him, and chose to base his work on "Zeus Olympios," Phidias' gigantic statue and one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. When it was completed in 1841, the enthroned, half-naked president didn't go down well with the prudish public. Complaints flooded in, and it became the butt of many a joke in the capitol. Unloved, it was eventually moved to the Smithsonian in 1908, and today it lives as a peculiarity in the National Museum of American History.
"Entropa" (2009) by David Cerny —
On paper "Entropa" was a collaboration between 27 artists from each member state of the European Union. In reality, the satirical piece was all Cerny, and ruffled many feathers. The sculpture, representing a large blister pack, ascribed a crude national stereotype to each country -- a strike banner for France and Dracula's castle for Romania, for example. Ambassadors pitched in and there was much opprobrium. It's still up for debate whether Cerny was looking to break down stereotypes or uphold them with "Europa," but many thought it was the latter.
"Eating People" (2000) by Zhu Yu —
Chinese painter and performance artist Zhu Yu made headlines after exhibiting at Ai Wei Wei-curated "Fuck Off" in 2000. "Eating People" purported to show the artist cooking a human fetus and consuming it. The backlash was instant, and Yu only fanned the flames when, in a Channel 4 documentary, he claimed he was trying to point out that "no religion forbids cannibalism ... nor can I find any law which prevents us from eating people." When images went viral, there were reports Yu was investigated by the FBI and the British police. Years later -- and despite multiple websites claiming to have debunked the piece -- Yu maintains that the fetus was real.
"Above the Below" (2003) by David Blaine —
In 2003, magician David Blaine spent 44 days suspended in a glass box on the banks of the River Thames in London. Blaine gorged himself before the event, surviving on fluids, and had a thoroughly rough ride. Spectators threw golf balls and paint-filled balloons and the box, along with rotten eggs. Someone tried to cut Blaine's water line, and another taunted the magician with a burger attached to a remote-controlled helicopter. His first words when the left the box: "I love you all." He went straight to hospital.
