At the Madeira Municipal Building in Ohio, a high school student's artwork depicting a pig in a police uniform was taken down by the organizers of an annual student art show. In the artwork, the pig is standing in front of collaged newspaper headlines about police using deadly force. Guess what? People complained.
The unnamed student created the artwork as a response to the following assignment:
"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 Madeira Police Department would not confirm or deny whether they asked for the painting to be removed. From WCPO:
"The members of the Madeira Police Department fully respect and support the student's right to free speech and recognize that this young artist is very talented," (a police) statement reads. "However, officers are troubled by the perceived message of the student's art project."
So was Lt. Dan Hils, president of the local Fraternal Order of Police and a frequent defender of Cincinnati officers whose use of force becomes the subject of public discussion. On Monday night, Hils said he was saddened by the piece but would not have asked for it to be removed.
"For me, the word I think of is just a little disappointed — disappointed that there is youth that believe that of police officers," he said, adding: "It's a beautiful thing our country has — the ability for people to express how they feel and this young person was expressing how they feel. I feel they were wrong."
"Madeira student's art project depicting police officer as pig removed from city art show" (Thanks, Charles Pescovitz!)
