Louvre too sober for explicit sculpture

LONDON: In the end it was just too kinky for the Louvre. The world’s most visited museum shied away from displaying a sculpture that some have labeled as too sexually explicit, but the nearby Pompidou Centre on Tuesday decided the world needed to decide for itself. Standing 12 metres tall, Domestikator, a creation from Dutch artist Joep van Lieshout, was originally expected to stand in the 13th century Tuileries Gardens adjacent to Paris’ Louvre museum as part of a contemporary art fair this month. But the geometric sculpture, showing a red human figure appearing to penetrate a four-legged creature, was perhaps just a little too imposing for the home of French art. “I was surprised first of all, and then of course disappointed, because it (Louvre Museum) couldn’t show the art work,” van Lieshout told Reuters TV, adding that he had never intended to elicit a sexual interpretation. Local media said the Louvre had made its decision after a barrage of negativity on social media and fears that it would not be received in such a public place. The piece, made of steel, wood and fiberglass, is now on show in the esplanade outside the building of the Pompidou Centre. Already displayed for three years in Bochum, Germany, the sculpture had not courted any controversy until now. Lieshout insisted that his work defined the domestication of animals by humans for agriculture and industry as well as highlighting the ethical issues surrounding that.