Three men thought to be Islamists have defaced an art exhibition in Frankfurt, seizing a copy of the Koran which was part of a work valued at €150,000 (£120,000) called “God is Great (no.4)” by the late British conceptual artist John Latham.
The men, reported to be of North African origin, became aggressive with staff and demanded they explain what the Koran was doing there and what was the meaning of the exhibition. The men then removed the Koran from the pile of broken glass in which the artist had placed it along with the Bible and Talmud. They ran with the Koran from the gallery, despite attempts by a staff member and visitor to stop them, according to a report in Bild.
Latham, who died in 2006, created a series called “God is Great” in the 1990s which was exhibited at Oxford’s Museum of Modern Art, London’s Lisson gallery and at the Venice Biennale.
According to Latham, his art work was supposed to show “that all religious teaching comes from the same source, whatever name you give to it.”
In 2005, the Tate Britain cancelled plans to show “God is Great (no.2),” in which the Koran, Bible and Talmud were cut up and fastened to each side of a piece of glass, because the museum feared it could upset Muslims following London’s July 7th bombings.
Due to the apparent religious motivation of the attack on the exhibition, an investigation will be undertaken by German federal authorities.
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