If you’re talking about an artwork that features the Pope flattened by a falling asteroid, it's hard to think how you could possibly intensify the drama. Looking through the book With by through because towards despite about curator Harald Szeemann (Foundation selector of the 2002 Walters Prize), we came across some people who did just that.
This incident sparked by Maurizio Cattelan’s work The ninth hour took place back in 2000 in Warsaw. Two Catholic members of parliament (belonging to the right-wing League of Polish Families political party) attempted to lift the ‘meteor’ off the stricken Pope and stand him up as security guards rushed to the scene. You can see two of them here attempting to seize MP Witold Tomçzak who is on the right. Cattelan’s response? “In the end it is only a piece of wax.”
