5/20/2003: Fish in a blender

Undertoad · 05-20-2003, 10:15 AM

In the IotD theme of interesting/controversial art, this is an installation in a Danish museum. Not only are the fish and blenders real, they are plugged in, and a display invites visitors to blend the fish if they like.

The museum director was initially charged with animal cruelty, but he was acquitted yesterday after it was decided that the fish, if they are blended, are killed instantly and thus humanely.

That brings up questions. Why the director? Shouldn't it be the visitors who choose to press the button who are charged? Why was the artist left out of it? If it's OK to kill them, why is it suddenly not OK if it takes a while for them to die?

Is it good art? It's provocative; without even seeing it, all of us are provoked to answer the question of whether we'd press the button. (I wouldn't.)

On the other hand, it's too simple. It's easy to provoke people via cruelty; we are guaranteed to react to it. Art is not good solely because it makes you think. The best art, it seems to me, is deeper and more inspiring as it makes complicated statements in subtle ways.

Maybe one could come up with a complicated statement about this; "Look, the dark side in humanity is all around us, maybe standing right next to you, maybe in your family, and it's demonstrated in simple ways, just by offering the push of a button." But "Duh!" -- we knew that already, and it's been well-explored, and at the end of the day our cruelty is not the truly interesting thing about humanity.

05-20-2003, 11:31 AM

Where the hell was this?

Undertoad · 05-20-2003, 11:44 AM

Trapholt Art Museum in Kolding Denmark.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...ws/5895738.htm

And · 05-20-2003, 12:15 PM

I can't help but imagine the "artist" standing just out of sight, wringing his hands and grinning broadly, occasionally peeking around the corner at the blenders and snickering...

This is not art. This is a "Hey, wouldn't it be rad if we...!"

Happy Monkey · 05-20-2003, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Undertoad
If it's OK to kill them, why is it suddenly not OK if it takes a while for them to die?

Remember that a goldfish only has 3 seconds of memory. If it takes more than 3 seconds for them to die then they will have been in severe pain for as long as they can remember!

xoxoxoBruce · 05-20-2003, 01:56 PM

Bass-O-Matic was funny because it was so preposterous.
This is just sick. I don't no much about art, but this ain't it!

Cochese · 05-20-2003, 03:46 PM

Can fish even feel pain?

juju · 05-20-2003, 04:22 PM

Of course, they're animals.

chrisinhouston · 05-20-2003, 04:33 PM

The friendly folks at PETA have a viewpoint:
http://www.nofishing.net/pain.html

wolf · 05-20-2003, 05:25 PM

I wonder how many fish they go through in a day?

05-20-2003, 05:36 PM

Two (2) total, apparently. It was pulled after that.

Whit · 05-20-2003, 06:02 PM

     What's up with those cheap-ass blenders? Only one button, one speed? What's the fun in that?
     I wonder how many people double tapped the button? Ya know, just enough to spin the water a bit, but not actually suck the fish down to it blendery death? Er, not that I'd do, or even think of such a thing...

richlevy · 05-20-2003, 06:42 PM

A few years back there was a pet store in Delaware on Rte 202 that had a tank of Piranha. For less than a buck you could buy feeder goldfish and drop them in the tank.

Now since the activity which ensued was

a) part of the natural order

and

b) not wasteful since the fish are serving a purpose

does that put it on a higher ethical plane than the blender art?

novice · 05-20-2003, 09:09 PM

A FRENCH Blender, oui? Merde

elSicomoro · 05-20-2003, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Undertoad
Is it good art? It's provocative; without even seeing it, all of us are provoked to answer the question of whether we'd press the button. (I wouldn't.)

For some reason, this reminds me of Stanley Milgram and his wacky experiments from the '60s.

(I'd push the button...what the hell...)

05-20-2003, 10:15 AM	#1
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	5/20/2003: Fish in a Blender In the IotD theme of interesting/controversial art, this is an installation in a Danish museum. Not only are the fish and blenders real, they are plugged in, and a display invites visitors to blend the fish if they like. The museum director was initially charged with animal cruelty, but he was acquitted yesterday after it was decided that the fish, if they are blended, are killed instantly and thus humanely. That brings up questions. Why the director? Shouldn't it be the visitors who choose to press the button who are charged? Why was the artist left out of it? If it's OK to kill them, why is it suddenly not OK if it takes a while for them to die? Is it good art? It's provocative; without even seeing it, all of us are provoked to answer the question of whether we'd press the button. (I wouldn't.) On the other hand, it's too simple. It's easy to provoke people via cruelty; we are guaranteed to react to it. Art is not good solely because it makes you think. The best art, it seems to me, is deeper and more inspiring as it makes complicated statements in subtle ways. Maybe one could come up with a complicated statement about this; "Look, the dark side in humanity is all around us, maybe standing right next to you, maybe in your family, and it's demonstrated in simple ways, just by offering the push of a button." But "Duh!" -- we knew that already, and it's been well-explored, and at the end of the day our cruelty is not the truly interesting thing about humanity.

05-20-2003, 12:15 PM	#4
And Conjunction Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Conjunction Junction Posts: 168	I can't help but imagine the "artist" standing just out of sight, wringing his hands and grinning broadly, occasionally peeking around the corner at the blenders and snickering... This is not art. This is a "Hey, wouldn't it be rad if we...!" __________________ -And, Word Wrangler and Keeper of the Cuttlefish.

05-20-2003, 01:56 PM	#6
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Bass-O-Matic was funny because it was so preposterous. This is just sick. I don't no much about art, but this ain't it! __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

05-20-2003, 05:25 PM	#10
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	I wonder how many fish they go through in a day? __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

05-20-2003, 06:02 PM	#12
Whit Umm ... yeah. Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Arkansas, USA Posts: 949	What's up with those cheap-ass blenders? Only one button, one speed? What's the fun in that?      I wonder how many people double tapped the button? Ya know, just enough to spin the water a bit, but not actually suck the fish down to it blendery death? Er, not that I'd do, or even think of such a thing... __________________ A friend will help you move. A true friend will help you move a body.

05-20-2003, 11:31 AM	#2
dave Guest Posts: n/a	Where the hell was this?

05-20-2003, 11:44 AM	#3
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Trapholt Art Museum in Kolding Denmark. http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...ws/5895738.htm

05-20-2003, 03:46 PM	#7
Cochese Disorderly Orderly Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 54	Can fish even feel pain?

05-20-2003, 04:22 PM	#8
juju no one of consequence Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Arkansas Posts: 2,839	Of course, they're animals.

05-20-2003, 04:33 PM	#9
chrisinhouston Professor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Houston TX Posts: 1,857	The friendly folks at PETA have a viewpoint: http://www.nofishing.net/pain.html

05-20-2003, 05:36 PM	#11
dave Guest Posts: n/a	Two (2) total, apparently. It was pulled after that.

05-20-2003, 06:42 PM	#13
richlevy King Of Wishful Thinking Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Philadelphia Suburbs Posts: 6,669	A few years back there was a pet store in Delaware on Rte 202 that had a tank of Piranha. For less than a buck you could buy feeder goldfish and drop them in the tank. Now since the activity which ensued was a) part of the natural order and b) not wasteful since the fish are serving a purpose does that put it on a higher ethical plane than the blender art? __________________ Exercise your rights and remember your obligations - VOTE! I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting. -- Barack Hussein Obama

05-20-2003, 09:09 PM	#14
novice Ignorance is bliss and I'm orgasmic Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: perth, australia Posts: 296	A FRENCH Blender, oui? Merde

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