Paris’s ‘Tree’ Art Installation Provokes Uproar

U.S. Artist Paul McCarthy Attacked After Piece’s Resemblance to Sex Toy Divides Locals

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Not everyone in Paris appears to like contemporary art.

A massive, green, inflatable installation by U.S. artist Paul McCarthy was vandalized in central Paris in the night from Friday to Saturday, according to a police official, after the piece of art entitled “The Tree” sparked outrage.

The artwork, set up last week on the famous Place Vendôme, ignited a wave of comments on social media for its resemblance to a sex toy. It attracted even more attention after the Los Angeles artist—known for his sometimes controversial and provocative work—was attacked by a person in the street Thursday as “Tree” was being set up on the square.

According to French daily Le Monde, a man approached Mr. McCarthy as he was watching “Tree” being blown up and hit him in the face three times. According to the paper, which was interviewing the artist during the incident, the man shouted at Mr. McCarthy that “he wasn’t French” and that his artwork had “nothing to do in this square.”

Then in the night from Friday to Saturday, a group of people cut through the cords that held up the artwork, the police official said. A person in charge of overseeing “The Tree” then deflated it to limit any damage, the official said.

Hours after the incident, the Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain, which was in charge of the installation, said the artist decided against re-erecting his artwork.

“Instead of the piece being about a discussion about how objects exist as language with layers of meaning, a violent reaction occurred,” Mr. McCarthy said. He added that wasn’t interested in created any more “confrontation and physical violence.”

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo condemned the attack. “Art has all its place on the streets of Paris and no one can hunt it away,” she wrote in a tweet.

Mr. McCarthy said in the interview with Le Monde that “The Tree” was an abstract piece of art that originated in a joke about a sex toy.

While some people joked about its resemblance to a sex toy, other remarks were more aggressive.

“Paris humiliated,” said one comment from Printemps Francais, a movement associated with conservative views. Others defended Mr. McCarthy on Twitter after news of his attack spread on the social media.

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