Dutch artist Joep van Lieshout poses for photographs in front of his sculpture "Domestikator", displayed in the plaza outside the Centre Pompidou modern art museum in Paris, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017. The Centre Pompidou modern art museum in Paris has unveiled a provocative sculpture meant to represent the domestication of the earth by humanity. The huge sculpture, made of cubical metal containers, suggests two human figures having sexual intercourse, and the Louvre Museum ruled it too obscene to display in the nearby Tuileries Gardens as part of the FIAC contemporary art exhibition.(AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
The Associated Press
PARIS (AP) - A huge sculpture deemed too obscene for the regal gardens of the Louvre Museum has found a new home at Paris' edgier Pompidou Center.
The art work was unveiled Tuesday in front of the Pompidou modern art museum. The piece, made of cubical containers, suggests an abstract pair having sex.
Artist Joep Van Lieshout told The Associated Press his sculpture, titled "Domestikator," is meant to represent the domestication of the Earth by humans and the evolution of robotics and big data.
The work was meant to be displayed during a contemporary art festival in the Tuileries Gardens, adjacent to the Louvre.
Pierre Bachelot of the Carpenter's Workshop Gallery that represents Van Lieshout says Louvre management "found it could shock" visitors.
Bachelot said: "It's art, so you must open your mind."
Dutch artist Joep van Lieshout poses for photographs in front of his sculpture "Domestikator", displayed in the plaza outside the Centre Pompidou modern art museum in Paris, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017. The Centre Pompidou modern art museum in Paris has unveiled a provocative sculpture meant to represent the domestication of the earth by humanity. The huge sculpture, made of cubical metal containers, suggests two human figures having sexual intercourse, and the Louvre Museum ruled it too obscene to display in the nearby Tuileries Gardens as part of the FIAC contemporary art exhibition.(AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
The Associated Press