The crucified frog will be staying where it is. A statue representing a frog on a cross like Jesus Christ, with eyes and tongue lolling out, will remain displayed in Bolzano’s Museion until the end of the exhibition “Peripheral Vision and Collective Body”, that is the 21st September 2008.

The work of German artist Martin Kippenberger, which has been attacked out of religious fanatism and political opportunism, will not be excluded from the exhibition. This is the decision of the borad of directors of Bolzano’s Museion, going against the general feelings and the request of pope Benedict XVI.

The Pope himself had denounced the statue because in his opinion it offended the religious feelings of many people who consider the Holy Cross a symbol of God’s love and redemption.

The Museion’s decision, however, seems to demostrate that art can be mightier than politics. As a matter of fact, the museum claims that “Zuerst die Fuesse” has nothing to do with religion, as it is the ironic self-portrait of an artist and the expression of his own angst. The author himself, who died in 1997, declared that he was making a statement against the hypocrisy of those who looked at appearances and not substance.

While being a Catholic, I, for one, am glad that the statue will be staying at its place. I believe that artists shoudl be free to represent their ideas in their works, even though their meanings are not immediately clear to the general public. The frog on a cross is a blasphemy only for those who, as teh author himslef said, look at appearances and not at substance.