BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — When a gigantic mural of St. George appeared next to a historic church dedicated to the revered figure, many hailed it as a brilliant piece of street art. But the influential Romanian Orthodox Church was not amused.
I’m of two minds on this one; granted, one is bigger than the other. First and foremost, I stand in staunch opposition to censorship. The church in question didn’t own the building upon which the mural was painted, thus they had no right to dictate what should be done with that building. I do have a little sympathy, though, in that the mural was emblazoned on a wall within spittin’ distance of said church, and it WAS kinda ugly. Art being subjective and all, this latter critique probably doesn’t satisfy the grounds for legitimacy. But I can sorta understand an historical house of worship not liking having it up across the street. I sympathize, but cannot condone their using their influence to have it removed.
But then I’m no big fan of St. George to begin with. He will always be identified with the slaying of dragons, and I love dragons, so George is far from my favorite canonized character. Speaking of dragons, though . . . Since this is Romania, howza ‘bout we get a mural (a tasteful mural) of the Son of the Dragon, Dracula himself, on some available wall somewhere? He’s a national hero, after all, right?
