The high school artists refuse to back down in the face of criticism from internet commenters and Fox News Hosts.
Image via Facebook.
A New Jersey high school is battling vitriol from national news media over a student art gallery that featured works critical of police violence and brutality. According to Hyperallergic, students at Westfield High School were asked to produce artwork that reflect on one of three socially relevant themes: “Modern Technology Advances,” “Gender Equality,” and “Law Enforcement – Police Brutality.” On this final subject, students created silkscreens with stark graphics that represented police violence—one image, for example, portrayed an over-sized police badge lodged into a bleeding teenager’s back.
“The message that I am trying to convey is how some police officers have spilled the blood of many innocent people,” wrote the artist in their statement.
After the photos were posted to Facebook (ostensibly by one incensed attendee), the images went viral, provoking the outrage of online commenters as well as national news media like Fox News. The network’s Eric Bolling said he’d like to “see that thing taken down,” although he very recently defended a cartoon contest for images of the Muslim prophet Muhammed. Bolling responded to the accusation of hypocrisy by reaffirming his committment to free speech—except in a high school art project. Which really sounds like a poor way of setting an example for nation’s youth.
One Westfield student posted a video to YouTube addressing all the critics of the art show.
“How are we supposed to deal with any of the issues plaguing our country today, such as police brutality, gender equality and modern technology if we can’t express ourselves?” she asked.
Image via Facebook.
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