ARTs Update: “Impeach Bush” but not in Pierce County
by Chris Van Vechten
Last November I reported having sat on a juried panel to purchase art for government buildings owned by our county government. Over 300 pieces were submitted to said panel by some 41 local artists and were reviewed by four art professionals and myself. Among these 300 pieces, there was one which, although receiving the highest composite score from the panel, was nonetheless ultimately denied for purchase because – upon closer examination of the painting – it was discovered that the words “Impeach Bush” appeared on the canvas. The politically charged phrase had been shrunken by the slide through which we – the panel – viewed it and thus we were unaware of existence.
I asked committee staff why such a statement, in itself, overruled the collective judgment of four art professionals and a private citizen like myself. Their response was something to the effect of “you may not like the president, but it is inappropriate for a government entity to insult the commander and chief in that way.” As I know the people on committee staff are Democrats, I do not think they were making excuses for why the painting – whose artist shall remain unnamed – wasn’t purchased.
QUESTION: Is it appropriate for a public arts commission to purchase a private work that calls for an unpopular president’s removal using tax-payer dollars?
image credit http://flickr.com/photos/articnomad/
January 9th, 2009 at 4:34 am
What is appropriate is a local government standing up for abuses against its citizens by higher levels – the rural railroad design that Sound Transit is trying to push on South Downtown would be a great current example.
Funding political messages of any sort through government is never appropriate, including in the arts. One exception that I can think of would be the cost of art supplies for a public school class which are then used by the student to create their message.
That, IMO, would be a good thing.
Anything else is really just bureaucratic propoganda.
Reply
January 9th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Most, if not all art makes a statement of some kind or another, often it is politically infused or influenced, so I think it’s appropriate. It’s not as if it’s calling Bush to be hanged or using ethnic slurs. If it’s a matter of tax payer dollars, I’m fairly certain that some people are not going to like some of the choices made, political or not.
Reply