Uproar over desecration of Paderborn Cathedral in Germany. Claims it was the work of the Holy Spirit- FULL VIDEO
Art performance causes a stir at the ceremonial opening of the special exhibition "775 – Westphalia" in Paderborn
Federal President sees frozen chickens in diapers in front of the cathedral altar
An art performance in front of the Minister-President, Federal President, and Archbishop caused a stir following the ceremony marking the Westphalian anniversary in Paderborn. A half-naked Grim Reaper and diapered frozen chickens were on display in the sanctuary.
The special exhibition "775 – Westphalia" was ceremoniously opened with a ceremony in Paderborn Cathedral on Thursday evening. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister-President Hendrik Wüst attended the event with several hundred invited guests. But instead of a reverent atmosphere, one item in particular left people with questioning faces and discontent.
What had happened? Immediately after the welcome address by Georg Lunemann, Director of the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe (LWL), the Ensemble Bodytalk from Münster presented a five-minute dance performance – an excerpt from their program "Westphalia Side Story." The sanctuary served as the stage.
Half-naked, dancing with scythes, the trio whirled barefoot past the bishop's chair, Easter candle, altar cross, and choir stall. The climax of the performance: frozen chickens wrapped in diapers were lifted from a metal bowl, carried on hands, and staged like puppets. The artistic performance was accompanied by a musical adaptation of the well-known pop anthem "Live is Life" as "Fleisch ist Fleisch." The trio, consisting of two half-naked men and a woman, held the diaper-clad chickens aloft like in the famous "Lion King" movie scene.
Interspersed throughout were meat-glorifying slogans that some vegetarians perceived as provocations: For example, "Because meat gives me power, only meat gives me strength, the farmer eats vegetables" or "Because only meat makes you happy, only meat makes you joyful, whether beef, chicken, or pork, I slaughter everything raw." The dancer and the two other dancers danced in harmony and joy, sometimes sitting with the diaper-wearing chickens on their shoulders or holding hands like a waltz.
Several hundred guests were in the cathedral at this point, and some didn't like the performance. The applause was muted, and there were confused glances. Behind closed doors, there was talk of "disturbing," "strange," and "tasteless" scenes. Several participants questioned whether a church ceremony with the head of state in the sanctuary was the appropriate setting for such a drastic performance. How the Federal President reacted to the meat performance is unknown. He then delivered his keynote speech without addressing the dance piece.
Bernhard Hoppe-Biermeyer, a CDU member of the Delbrück state parliament and among the invited guests, had clear words afterward: "Art may be provocative, and I respect artistic freedom. But that also gives me the freedom to find something abhorrent. I found this performance, especially when presented in a church, to be at least undignified and tasteless. I was ashamed of it!"
Werner Dürdoth, deputy district administrator in Höxter and member of the regional assembly, also views the event very critically. "A performance like this has no place in a house of worship," said the Borgentreich CDU politician. The topic was discussed at length afterwards in the town hall.
The Regional Association (LWL), which is responsible for the exhibition in the Imperial Palace and the ceremony, defended the ensemble's involvement. When asked, press spokesman Frank Tafertshofer explained that there had been a lot of praise. "But the piece certainly caused some surprise," he admitted. The group Bodytalk is known for its experimental formats – and is supported by both the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the LWL Cultural Foundation.
Rolf Baumgart, who founded and directs the dance ensemble together with Japanese Yoshiko Waki, said that the performance included two excerpts from the play "Westphalia Side Story – Province? Provincial!" The piece is not yet finished, and the premiere is scheduled for September. Both the scythes and the chickens have a connection to Westphalia: "Westphalia is a region characterized by agriculture. In the past, grass was mowed with scythes, and there have also been peasant revolts throughout history. There are many chickens in Westphalia. These animals are part of the cultural wealth." The chickens wore diapers during the performance to humanize them.
"We don't want to be anything that is considered cheap or cheap. We wanted to open up a controversial space with this performance," said Baumgart. "The song 'Meat is meat' is not one of our own creations, but comes from the Tönnies company, which also belongs to Westphalia." The dance group had visited Paderborn Cathedral in the run-up to the performance almost three months ago. They had tried to manifest the Holy Spirit. According to Baumgart, doves symbolise the Holy Spirit in Paderborn. "We simply chose chickens instead of doves".
Cathcon: They think people are utterly stupid.
But what do the Church hosts, the Archbishop and Cathedral provost, think of the production? The press office of the Archdiocese of Paderborn simply said on Friday: "We don't want to comment on this."
Starts at 2:16.50 Muted applause!
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