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Where is art going? It seems to have been in the doldrums for decades. Works of art that come to prominence seem to be heaped with plaudits for one thing: their "shockability". This neo-iconoclasm palls quickly and can send art into a spiral of nihilism, and even depravity, as artists bid to outdo each other in pushing the boundaries. Is the Irish art world prejudiced against both figurative work and religious themes? The internationally commissioned Dublin sculptor, Dony MacManus, believes so. He tells Sarah MacDonaldwhy.
A case in point is Gunther von Hagens, with his trademark black fedora and his morbid obsession with dissecting real human bodies. Maybe the emotionally disturbed find such macabre work resonates with them, but for the average person these exhibits confuse. Is this flayed cadaver art? Is it science? Is this hybrid something creative and you just can't recognise it, or is it, as your gut instinct tells you, a clever if twisted stunt? Are the critics allowing themselves to be duped?
