THAILAND: A Thai artist defends his controversial Hitler T-shirt design, saying his art was unfairly censored as he was forced to stop producing and selling the item

Record ID: 527915

  • Title: THAILAND: A Thai artist defends his controversial Hitler T-shirt design, saying his art was unfairly censored as he was forced to stop producing and selling the item
  • Date: 22nd March 2012
  • Summary: BANGKOK, THAILAND (MARCH 10, 2012) (REUTERS-ACCESS ALL) SHOPPERS WALKING IN TERMINAL 21 MALL USAPANITCH BEHIND THE REGISTER IN HIS STORE HITLER T-SHIRT CUSTOMER LOOKING AT MERCHANDISE VARIOUS OF PICTURES OF HITLER AS RONALD MCDONALD IMAGE OF HITLER PRINTED ON DENIM JEANS VARIOUS OF T-SHIRTS WITH CARTOONS USAPANITCH WORKING (SOUNDBITE) (Thai) ARTIST EKACHAI USAPANITCH SAYING: "There are two sides. Some people like [the shirt] some people don't. But when I tell people that it's art, everyone understands. But some people don't understand as well. They see it as bad." MORE T-SHIRTS WITH CARTOONS (SOUNDBITE) (Thai) ARTIST EKACHAI USAPANITCH SAYING: "It's art. It's not a serious thing, you don't have to threaten me. Today, the world is so advanced, it's not like it was before."
  • Embargoed: 6th April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Thailand, Thailand
  • Country: Thailand
  • Topics: Arts
  • Reuters ID: LVA9B27OJK9LBON4XEWCMUVL19PR
  • Story Text: Ekachai Usapanitch, 32, is the artist responsible for creating the controversial Adolf Hitler T-shirtS scattered around Bangkok.
    The t-shirt, bearing a cartoonish Ronald McDonald design resembling the German dictator, was popular among Thai teenagers who flocked to Usapanitch's shop at Terminal 21, a new trendy mall in Bangkok and have caused a stir.
    Other Hitler designs include one of him in a panda suit, or as a Teletubby. While the T-shirt has been sold in stores around the city for the past six months, the issue came into the spotlight when foreigners started questioning the fashion trend.
    "There are two sides. Some people like (the shirt) some people don't. But when I tell people that it's art, everyone understands. But some people don't understand as well. They see it as bad," Usapanitch said.
    Usapanitch claims he was forced to take the shirts off the rack and was ordered to stop producing them after a visit from the Israeli ambassador.
    "It's art. It's not a serious thing, you don't have to threaten me. Today, the world is so advanced, it's not like it was before," he said.
    The controversy that sparked international media attention labeled Thais as ignorant of world history and the events of the Second World War.
    But Usapanitch says banning the shirt was another form of dictatorship. Reuters TV tried to reach the Israeli embassy in Bangkok, but they refused to comment, only saying that it was a "sensitive" issue.
    One Thai customer said a T-shirt shouldn't be the topic of national controversy.
    "This is a small matter. There are other things that need to be changed in this world, you don't have to pay attention to this matter, it's art. You can do anything. It's colourful, would you rather want us to wear black and white shirts only, that's just strange," said 27-year old Kanapol Sirivadhanakul.
    But European tourists thought the Hitler shirts should be kept off the shelves.
    "I understand that some people can find it fun or art, but if you come from Europe, it's a very, very sensitive issue and I would never, ever in my whole life buy a t-shirt with anything that symbolizes Nazi Germany. It's a very, very tricky thing in Europe and it's still a part of history, we still have people who have experienced it so we don't make fun of it, it's not fun actually," said 46-year old Lotte Ladegaard, a tourist from Denmark.
    Usapanitch's small shop is filled with different cartoon designs of famous people like U.S. President Barack Obama, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il and icons like Apple founder Steve Jobs and pop king Michael Jackson.
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