How far can a graffitied image of a penis get you? In Russia, it can get you an award.
Photo: VOINA Art-Group
The Russian graffiti group named “Voina” (War) received a prize for “innovation” in the visual art category sponsored by the Russian Culture Ministry for painting a penis on a drawbridge in St. Petersburg.
Two members of the group–Leonid Nikolayev and Oleg Vorotnikov– were arrested for a stunt last September (they overturned several police cars in a protest called Palace Revolution) and have spent four months in prison awaiting trial. The activists were recently released, thanks to 300,000 rubles ($10,000) each, paid by world’s best known graffiti artist, Banksy, from Britain.