VIENNA, Austria—The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) has joined the Austrian TFP’s ongoing campaign against the blasphemous exhibit at the Künstlerhaus Vereinigung, strengthening the growing international response to the outrage.
The exhibition’s title, “You Shall Make for Yourself an Image,” inverts the words contained in the Second Commandment. Some of the offensive artwork includes:
- A mock crucifix featuring a frog instead of a corpus.
- A photograph of a bearded man, dressed in clothing resembling that of Our Lady, posing with an infant. This image was created by LGBT activist Sumi Anjuman.
- A modern rendition of the Pietà statue depicting Our Lady in complete nudity.
- An image of a female “Baby Jesus.”
- A work by Esther Strauß, a self-proclaimed witch, portrays a liturgical vestment stained with blood, urine, and feces. The same artist’s blasphemous depiction of Our Lady made international news in 2024.
The exhibit will feature works from 42 “artists.” According to its organizers, the collection aims to promote feminist perspectives:
“The exhibition ‘YOU SHALL MAKE FOR YOURSELF AN IMAGE’ explores the imaginative power of religious experience, its visual expression in Christian iconography, and its interpretation by contemporary artists. At its heart are works whose creators approach Christian iconography with critical yet affectionate, humorous yet feminist perspectives, offering new insights into imagery passed down through centuries.”
As part of its campaign, the Austrian TFP has launched an online petition urging Tanja Prušnik, President of the Artists’ House Association, to close the exhibition immediately.
Its sister organization, the American TFP, has initiated a parallel petition drive in the United States, inviting Americans to join the effort. Signatures from both petitions will be combined and delivered in Vienna.
John Horvat, vice president of the American TFP, emphasized the importance of international support:
“Many times, the tendency is to think that we should not worry too much about what happens overseas. However, blasphemy has no borders. As Catholics, we have the moral obligation to make public reparation for attacks on God’s honor, especially one of this gravity.”
Despite concerns from many faithful Catholics, Bishop Hermann Glettler of Innsbruck publicly expressed approval of the exhibit:
“Definitely worth seeing! The show of conflict-ridden pictorial experiments in the context of Christian iconography does not get lost in scandalous stories – yet it shows the exciting range, from Martin Kippenberger’s crucified frog to Markus Wilfling’s cube cross, as well as Deborah Sengl’s hypocritical worshipper and Thomas Riess’s resurrection painting… The exhibition is evidence of the endless struggle to do justice to the mystery of God, who has inscribed himself into a wounded world.” [Emphasis added]
Many Catholics disagree with his words and have asked the Austrian TFP to organize an in-person rosary rally of reparation outside of the Künstlerhaus.
Mr. Horvat warned that trivializing the blasphemous nature of the exhibit is dangerous:
“There is no message on Earth that can justify sacrilegious attacks on Our Lord and His Blessed Mother. Zero. Any idea or philosophy that relies on public blasphemies for publicity must be rejected as evil.”
This story is developing.
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