Posted inOpinion

Does a Sculpture of Hitler Belong in the Warsaw Ghetto?

Whether art still has the power to disrupt, offend, and shock is a well-worn topic in the art world. Many of us take it for granted that, as Jennifer Schuessler wrote this past fall in the New York Times, “Shock long ago went mainstream.” At heart, though, the question concerns not just an artwork but also its context, and in our day and age, one sometimes gets the sense that context might be everything. Consider this: a statue of Hitler is currently on display in the former Warsaw Ghetto, courtesy of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan.