Eda Čufer Boeken

''Artist bites spectators and destroys work of other artists at exhibition,'' the headlines read. "Interpol" documents the historic--and notorious--encounter between Western European and artists from Communist and former Communist nations, the 1996 Stockholm exhibition which ended in violence and arrests. This new book sheds light on this traumatic event, opening up new and more complex interpretations, and attempting to learn some lessons about cross-cultural encounters. Featuring commentary by the artists involved in the "Interpol" controversy--including Irwin, the Slovenian art collective associated with NSK and Laibach; Alexandra Brener, the Russian artist-boxer-provocateur: and Chinese conceptual artist Wenda Gu, whose art is said to have been destroyed at the event--as well as the exhibit's curators and several noted art scholars, "Interpol: The Art Exhibition which Divided East and West" explores all possible sides of this unique and controversial event.