CHRIS THURMAN: Art minus politics? It doesn’t exist
Trying to separate aesthetic objects from their political context is a fool’s errand
In a previous column I wrote about the statue of the Little Mermaid in anticipation of a visit to Copenhagen. It appears that I annoyed some readers by “politicising” what should apparently be a safely apolitical work of art. I aim to please, so on arrival in Denmark I set about visiting other sites of public art in the capital city with the aim of finding one that has nothing to do with politics.
A very different female subject to Hans Christian Andersen’s nameless mermaid is the winged figure that stands atop the Maritime Monument just around the corner — a version of the Nike of Samothrace presiding over scenes of destruction and mayhem, with reliefs depicting the circumstances under which 648 Danish seamen lost their lives during World War 1. ..
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