Vienna Opera’s Chinese takeover

Vienna Opera’s Chinese takeover

News

norman lebrecht

November 03, 2022

This is the new safety curtain at the Vienna State Opera.

It’s the work of Chinese multi-media artist Cao Fei.

Big Sister is watching you – and will be for the whole of next year.

Comments

  • Wahlberliner says:
    November 3, 2022 at 6:45 pm

    It’s like the stuff they put on the empty plinth in Trafalgar Square. You don’t need to get angry with it, you just need to ignore it for a year and it will go away of its own accord.

    Reply
  • Robert Holmén says:
    November 4, 2022 at 4:23 am

    That looks like the sort of thing that gets churned out of ZBrush, the 3D sculpting program, during live demos at conventions while people stand around watching.

    Reply
  • M McGrath says:
    November 4, 2022 at 11:04 pm

    I’m getting a gag reflex from that curtain… a well-known feeling for me in that house in recent years.

    I wonder if they’ll create a “Rent a Safety Curtain” program in Vienna. Each year a different “artist” can “create” for it. Or perhaps Emirates Airlines could advertise on it for that year.

    Should be about as successful as BAs rebranding its fleet in the early 1990s when dozens of different artists from all over the world were to commissioned to put their personal designs on the planes… and provoked gag reflexes from BA’s investors and frequent fliers. That resulted in extremely expensive and quick repainting into classic BA livery.

    Reply

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