Catherine Millet Defends Chapman Brothers' Fucking Hell Against Boltanski's Criticism

In an editorial for artpress, Catherine Millet responds to Christian Boltanski's harsh condemnation of Jake and Dinos Chapman's installation Fucking Hell, which Boltanski called 'ignoble' and 'the dregs' in a Libération interview. Millet contrasts Boltanski's Monumenta installation Personnes at the Grand Palais in Paris with the Chapman brothers' work at Punta della Dogana in Venice, part of François Pinault's collection. She argues that while Boltanski's piece keeps viewers at a respectful distance, forcing them to pay tribute to absent bodies through clothing, Fucking Hell demands close engagement with its horrific miniature scenes, implicating viewers in the depicted massacres. Millet notes the entry fee difference (€4 for Monumenta vs. €15 for Punta della Dogana) and suggests that the Chapman brothers' work, rooted in the tradition of hell depictions, leaves viewers feeling compromised rather than dutiful. She defends the Chapmans' indecency as a means to confront the fascination with corpses and human sacrifice, contrasting it with Boltanski's self-proclaimed decency, exemplified by his avoidance of underwear in his clothing piles despite its presence in extermination camps.