The Death of Art, or Vice Versa

Brian Doherty | December 8, 2002

While some artists find aesthetic wonderment in mass murder, mere art consumers in Berlin, perhaps under their influence, mistook the single body of a suicide lying in an art gallery space for a work of art. "It took a while before anyone realized it was not an act but a suicide," said a police spokeswoman. But given that the woman had discussed her suicide plans with artists at the space the night before on video, it's fair to say that to the woman involved, it was both.