Hintergrund Statement Sean Scully

Das englischsprachige Statement im Wortlaut:

"I reached a clear agreement with the Kunsthalle of Karlsruhe. I would give the paintings and the Kunsthalle would dedicate a floor in the new Museum, to house these works permanently, which would be the Sean Scully wing of the Museum. This agreement was not honored: therefore i am unable to give the paintings. The paintings were offered as a gift which is permanent. There is no such thing as a flexible gift. You give or you don't give. The cultural minister, wanted she said, to receive the gift without commitment. Without making a permanent space for them, in the service of flexibility.

The world is built by commitment. It is made up of places and spaces, who's identity is clear. If we make flexibility our cultural goal, we will leave nothing. Then you can put an abattoir in a hospital, and a vegetarian restaurant in an abattoir. All options open, and all commitment avoided: in imitation perhaps of the UK. Yes No but Maybe." (dpa)