Greek artist warns of fanaticism after art vandalised
ATHENS - A Greek artist whose work was vandalised by a far-right nationalist MP warned last week that fanaticism could spiral out of control in Western democracies.
"This violence is increasingly present in Europe and the United States, where ideas of purity, race or faith fuel nationalism," artist Christophoros Katsadiotis told AFP in an interview on May 29.
On March 10, four of Katsadiotis's artworks at Greece's National Gallery were thrown to the ground by two members of extreme-right Orthodox Christian party Niki -- one of them a party lawmaker -- who viewed them as "blasphemous".
Two months later, about 30 masked individuals attempted to assault him before an event in Thessaloniki, resulting in the 53-year-old engraver being put under police protection during public appearances.
Katsadiotis said the vandalisation incident at the National Gallery was "an attack on democracy... (and) our civilisation".
"If I need police protection, then freedom of expression no longer exists. It's a form of censorship," he told AFP on the sidelines of his new exhibition in Athens.
The art in question -- four engravings depicting Saint Christopher with a dog's head -- was part of a collective exhibition titled "The Allure of the Bizarre".
The two perpetrators, who smashed the glass protecting the engravings, were detained by police but later released.
Niki later expelled the lawmaker involved, Nikolaos Papadopoulos, from the party and the National Gallery has sued him.
Katsadiotis is also planning to take legal action.
"I was surprised and upset. It was the first time this had happened to me," he said.
The incident at the National Gallery sparked an outcry and was condemned by the culture ministry.
But the Orthodox Church, which holds broad influence over politics and society in Greece, has publicly criticised parts of the exhibition involving Katsadiotis, who spends his time between Athens and Paris.
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