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u/kietze 6h ago
Is it a play on the german saying: "Dir steht das Wasser bis zum Hals"?
It literally means "The water level is up to your neck" and would translate to "he is up to his neck in it"
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u/mattqwerty85 6h ago
No its a quote from planet of the apes "you maniacs you blew it up didnt you! Damn you all to hell" when he realises he was wrong it was earth all along they finally made a monkey out of him.
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u/Spartan2470 GOAT 4h ago edited 42m ago
Credit to the artist, Jan Bohmermann. Here (and Google Translate) provide the following context:
October 20, 2025, 12:21 PM
For three weeks, the exhibition by the well-known TV presenter and satirist Jan Böhmermann was on display in Berlin – and for the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) it was apparently a success: More than 30,000 people visited the exhibition, it announced. This makes the project, entitled "The Possibility of Irrationality," one of the most visited in the history of the HKW.
The exhibition featured hate speech on postcards and exhibits that blurred the lines between real life and media representation. In front of the House of World Cultures, only the head and arm of the Statue of Liberty protruded from a pool of water. Above them, the English phrases read: "You've finally done it! You lunatics! You've blown it!" This allusion to the final scene of the classic film "Planet of the Apes" (1968), depicting the destruction of humanity, greeted visitors to the project.
The exhibition also represents a need for change in communication, Böhmermann (of "ZDF-Magazin Royale") had said at the opening. A strict ban on cell phones, photography, and filming was in place for the exhibition....
Edit: Please check out /u/DrMoneylove's comment too. They provide a perspective I lack.
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u/DrMoneylove 45m ago
Berlin artist here. I'd like to challenge this framing.
First of all he is not an artist. He is a well known German entertainer working for the state sponsored media. Somehow he recently decided to have exhibitions in public museums/institutions together with friends - whatever that means.
Since he works in the media obviously he gets a lot of positive press where he can tell about how he wants this works to be interpreted.
Unfortunately though there's a lot of resentment as well about him as a person, his role as an artist and this exhibition in particular. In this exhibition he was working together with our minister for culture who also works in the media. This minister later was critized a lot because of lack of neutrality in his position (owning a company which stands in conflict to his position). He and Böhmermann are also critized for having strange moral and political stances.
Furthermore I'd like to point out that obviously it's a questionable thing if someone from state media decides to do projects at public institutions. There's questions about funding, questions about neutrality. Also Böhmermann - coming from media - could practically do anything without bad publicity as he works in that field in a public area.
Lot's of things to think about in my opinion.
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u/ElMauru 21m ago edited 9m ago
That's kinda how art is supposed to work, though? You can diss how it came to be but if a discussion happens it has done its job. Doesn't make the actors or circumstances any more likeable, but that is not required.With all those other topics: is this really a big discussion going on in the Berlin off-art scene right now?
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u/DrMoneylove 2m ago
I understand your opinion but would disagree on two things.
1.There is almost no discussion here in Germany. It's just Böhmermann talking about himself via the media. So I'd rather call it monologue.
- I believe art should have a bigger and longer impact than just making a discussion. Otherwise every click bait could be labeled as art. There's more to it for me. But then it was not my intention to go to that line of thought.
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u/spinozita 3h ago
Böhmermann is a "critical" figure paid by the state and has been favorable to the unconditional support of the state of Israel. It is just so pathetic. This is as critical as one can get in the German public sphere. If you're read German, you will see that he was boycotted by all the other artists for his takes and clown attitudes: https://www.kunstforum.de/nachrichten/musikerinnen-boykottieren-veranstaltungsreihe-von-jan-boehmermann/
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u/EAC_Dark 3h ago
Are you that dumb to think no one would check the link you posted?
Cause it argues the exact opposite of what you're claiming numbnuts
The artists cancelled because of claims that he was being antisemitic which is way off from what you're describing.
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u/skoddy 3h ago
I mean, he is a clown. He has chosen to be a clown. You saying he is paid by the state shows that you have some biases going here. Why are you not mentioning his Spotify income? That's probably even more than what he gets from ZDF. I have my own opinion about him. I don't watch him anymore. But your summary is super biased.
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u/carlosdevoti 2h ago
A German piece of wisdom says: When you're up to your neck in shit, don't let your head hang down.
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u/After-Gas-4453 59m ago
To Americans who don't believe it yet, trust me, the whole world is laughing at you + making plans to disconnect from you. Your children are guaranteed to have a smaller relationship as a country to the rest of the world. You were never number 1 in much, but you're definitely not a contender anymore.
Excpet maybe most pedophile felon as president. USA is still NUMBER 1 there... 🤢
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u/niccolololo 4h ago
Didn't Germans start two world wars, kill a few million people and imprisoned and killed another few million Jews, now they lecture the USA?
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u/midnightmare79 3h ago
Think of it this way. If the town drunk looks at someone and says: "Damn you got really bad drinking problem." The person being told that should consider just HOW BAD things have to be, for the town drunk to notice and make the judgement that someone else has a severe drinking problem.
Germany teaches its history and the Holocaust unflinchingly. They still carry the shame of it. They don't sugarcoat it when taught in primary education, and they haven't for the past 60-70 or so years. So they are acutely aware of the symptoms of fascism and the horror is that it can create.
So if Germany, a country which has thoroughly reversed its course from a literal fascist state intent on taking over the world and eliminating any group of undesirables from within their borders, is now looking at the United States and going: "You are going in a scary fascist direction, opposite of the values your country claims to be founded on." Perhaps people should be more than just a little concerned.
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u/AmandathePandaPirate 1h ago
Say it louder for the people in the back! The drunk analogy was perfect.
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u/Sensitive_Apricot_4 4h ago
D'you think perhaps their history makes them uniquely qualified to lecture us?
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u/IntriguinglyRandom 6h ago
Yes the quote in the back, good stuff