A student art piece that was shown briefly in the Madeira Municipal Building, in Ohio. The collage depicted a man with a pig’s head and the body of a uniformed police officer, standing with his hands behind its back. The figure was flanked with news stories with the headlines: SHOT SIX TIMES, GRAND JURY DECLINES TO INDICT OFFICER IN FERGUSON SHOOTING, TORTURED BY COPS, THEY KILLED HIM.
The artwork was being displayed in the city building as part of an annual art fair. The assignment given to a group of art students from Madeira Schools was to “Take current event articles published in newspapers or magazines on a similar topic and then summarize those articles into a visual representation of the feelings and emotions within the articles selected.”
The artwork sparked threats against the student artist, outraged calls to the Madeira Police Department and, ultimately, the censorship and removal of the artwork.
In a statement, Madeira City Schools said it had arrived at the decision “out of concern for the safety of the student.”
Image: “Pig Cop Graffiti” by Anarchimedia is licensed under CC BY 2.0
ANARCHIMEDIA 