With two fellow students and several hired activists, Helnwein stages a rebellion at the Akademy of Fine Arts in Vienna. The trigger was the refusal of the professors to allow student representatives a say in the entrance examinations. The event is carefully planned and choreographed by Helnwein. Professors are locked in, doors are set a blaze, the building is filled with smoke, paint splattered on the walls, windows smashed and serious damage is done. Panic breakes out and Riot police moves in. The "student revolt at the Academy of Fine Arts " makes the headlines in the Austrian media. The next day Helnwein and his colleagues get picked up by custodians of the university and charged.
Hertha Firnberg, Austrian minister of art and science, declares their action to be political and all investigations and criminal proceedings are dropped. ...

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