Radical Art Collective, Ztohoven's latest work.

According to a story here in the IHT, a collective of Czech artists are facing up to three years in jail, or a fine, or both, charged with scaremongering and attempted scaremongering.

Apparently a few months ago, of an early Sunday morning; the artists, who go by the collective moniker "Ztohoven" patched their way into the local cable and blasted what originally was a small, sleepy, breakfasting viewing audience with a faux nuclear blast smack in the middle of the morning news. And, while there was no "War of the Worlds" fall out, half a dozen members of Ztohoven, whose identities remain a mystery, are being charged with the crime of scaremongering.

Yup. an actual crime. Merriam Webster defines a scaremonger as "one inclined to raise or excite alarms especially needlessly".

The stunt is nothing new to the group known for its radical, activist art including, among other things, tinkering with a giant neon sculpture of a heart at the top of Prague Castle. And, it seems, that by and large the Czech public had lukewarm response to the event. And, perhaps this is not so surprising for a group which sees its artistic roots couched in a culture and a history that is known for appreciating sly mystery and deadpan humor. The stunt highlights a particular history in Czech culture of "tomfoolery" (not my word choice...several articles mention it!) and members of Ztohoven were quick to point to a larger cultural relevance in their art. The National Gallery in Prague last month even awarded the group a prize. the Gallery's director explained that the award was not a statement about the pending court case, but had instead been given for the group's "directness" in use of "Media Reality" as an emerging art form.

The "blast" itself grew in notoriety more after post-event coverage and YouTube dissemination see it here than anything else. (sidebar - everyone pop in your earbuds and turn up the volume. Dig the elevator music during the explosion)

And, while the stunt occurred across the globe and stories are just now leaking into local press it seems a relevant theme on a more local level as well.. While Ztohoven's art/stunt was more methodically planned and larger scale than, say, your average graffiti on a bill board or tagging of a public wall, the underlying theme is the same: Artists trying to shock a portion of the viewing public out of their every-day stupor. Should they be charged for a crime? Check out the links I'd be curious to know what you guys think