- No one likes being criticized but this isn’t the way to deal with it.
Hell hath no fury like an artist scorned. And it’s easy to see why — you pour your heart and soul into creating your masterpiece only for critics to poo-poo all over it.
But you should still take even harsh criticism with some dignity. And definitely not wipe dog s*** all over the critic’s face.
German ballet director Marco Goecke did just that after a critic thought his latest ballet, In the Dutch Mountains, was less than great. He smeared a bag of his dog’s droppings on the face of Wiebke Hüster, a culture critic from the Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.
Goecke’s actions quickly drew condemnation even from his fellows in the art world. The Hannover state opera house, his employer, suspended him following the poop stunt.
Faced with the backlash, Goecke apologized. He said he recognized he acted in the heat of the moment and his actions weren’t appropriate.
However, his apology quickly veered into begging for understanding. Goecke recommended the media refrain from “destructive” criticism, without explaining further what he meant by that.
We can probably safely assume that any criticism of his work is “destructive.”
‘I Was in Panic’
The dog turd incident happened on February 11 at the Hanover State Opera. The opera wasn’t showing one of Goecke’s works at the time.
According to Goecke, he had gone to take his dog out during the half-time break. Because he apparently brings his dog to the opera.
“My old dachshund made a pile and I put it in a bag and wanted to dispose of it outside,” Goecke told German news outlet NDR.
As he returned inside, Goecke ran into Hüster in the opera’s foyer. She was probably the last person he wanted to see.
Hüster had previously written some rather harsh words about Goecke’s newest show, In the Dutch Mountains. She had compared watching it to being “driven insane and killed by boredom.”
Ouch.
But it’s not like Goecke hasn’t received his share of praise. He’s won several awards, including many best choreography titles from critics’ surveys.
Yet Hüster’s words seem to have cut him particularly deep. Goecke accused her review of being the reason for his ballet’s lower-than-expected ticket sales and threatened to ban her from the opera house.
As their argument grew more heated, Goecke pulled the bag of dog crap from his pocket, pressed its open side on Hüster’s face, and wiped.
“With the open side of the bag, he rubbed the dog excrement into my face. When I felt what he had done, I screamed. I was in panic,” Hüster said, stating her side of the events.
There’s no doubt that the incident happened, as it stunned the crowd around the arguing duo to silence. Opera staff led Goecke his separate way while another person helped Hüster clean her face.
Sorry But Here’s Why I’m Not
After his suspension and public backlash against him, Goecke felt like he should apologize. And at first, he seemed to do so.
“I would like to apologize sincerely to all concerned, first and foremost to Ms. Hüster, for my absolutely unacceptable actions,” he told NDR.
“In retrospect, I am clearly aware that this was a shameful act done in the heat of the moment and an overreaction.”
Yet, the excuses soon started coming.
“I apologize for the fact that I finally blew my top, but I also ask for a certain understanding,” he said.
Here we go.
According to Goecke, Hüster had been criticizing his work for more than 20 years. During their argument, he also accused Hüster of that, while Hüster claims that she told Goecke that she’d enjoyed many of his ballets.
“I also asked myself how would other people who work hard deal with it when they came across such a situation. I don’t think any hard-working person would put up with that for long and I really stand behind that,” said Goecke.
In a weird way, we suppose Hüster should be flattered. Never mind the multiple prices and awards — Goecke really needed Hüster specifically to like him.
He also expanded to complaining about media in general, saying it should “rethink a certain form of reporting that is destructive, hurtful, and damaging to the entire cultural sector.”
‘He’s No Longer an Artist’
It probably doesn’t surprise anyone that Hüster isn’t buying Goecke’s excuses. She maintains that the attack was premeditated and has filed a criminal complaint against the director.
Goecke’s peers in the art and ballet world aren’t exactly rushing to his support, either. Dachverband Tanz Deutschland — a German dancing arts association — hoped his work would continue to be performed, but also said nothing could justify his actions.
Hanover State Opera was the party that originally urged Goecke to apologize. The opera said he’d caused “massive damage” to its reputation” with his actions and suspended him.
Leander Haussman, a fellow theater and movie director, didn’t mince words after Goecke’s stunt.
“Here is a colleague who has stumbled over his own sense of importance. This is an offense. And if he does not ask for forgiveness then he no longer has a place in our ranks; he’s no longer an artist,” he said.
Harsh, but we can’t really say Goecke didn’t deserve at least this criticism.
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