In Austria, I always see the two words "Kunst und Kultur" (art and culture) used together on different occasions on event banners, museums, descriptions of various kinds... Of course, that made me think about why, because for me they are two different worlds. In the current contemporary fields, one is about the "yet unknown being created", the other is "the way it is now". And if I recall the recent artworks, performances, music, or films I experienced, most of them truly reflect today's culture, as if mirroring the world of now, each presented in their own language: brush and paint, notes, words, moves... Why do we call ourselves artists if we merely translate the reality of today into our mastered language? It should not feel wrong or less prestigious to start calling that form of creation cultural work instead of a work of art.

I arrived at Vienna's Rathausplatz expecting one of those evenings that remind you why Europe is Europe.
Towering over the square stands the Rathaus, a masterpiece of Neo-Gothic architecture completed in the late 19th century. Every carved stone seems determined to outlive the people admiring it. In front of this magnificent building, the Vienna Film Festival had put up a giant screen as part of its annual event. That evening's program was Giselle—one of the great classical ballets. The audience gathered slowly, ballet enthusiasts, lovers of classical music, tourists hoping for a magical Viennese summer evening. There was an air of quiet anticipation.
Then the pre-show began.
Naturally, there were sponsor advertisements. No surprise there. But then came the most unforgettable one. A giant public service announcement filled the screen.
Accompanied by cheerful cartoon animations and an infectious children's jingle, which instructed thousands of people how to use a toilet.
"Stuhlgang und Lulu, alles andere ist tabu!"
Roughly: "Poop and pee—everything else is taboo."
There it was, projected several stories high across Vienna's most prestigious public square, moments before a performance of Giselle.
Imagine spending years creating an architectural masterpiece where every stone is carved with obsessive attention to detail, only for one of its modern uses to become the backdrop for a cartoon explaining that adults shouldn't flush garbage down the toilet.
The real disappointment wasn't that society has deteriorated to the point where public campaigns have to explain the difference between a toilet and a trash can. The greater disappointment was realizing that someone—perhaps an entire committee of well-educated professionals—looked at this setting, this audience, this moment, and collectively decided:
"Yes. Right before the performance is exactly when Vienna's citizens should take the lesson of poop."