Posted on 04/21/2006 10:46:17 AM PDT by Happy Valley Dude
For Penn State student Josh Stulman, years of hard work ended in disappointment yesterday when the university cancelled his upcoming art exhibit for violation of Penn State's policies on nondiscrimination, harassment and hate.
Three days before his 10-piece exhibit -- Portraits of Terror -- was scheduled to open at the Patterson Building, Stulman (senior-painting and anthropology) received an e-mail message from the School of Visual Arts that said his exhibit on images of terrorism "did not promote cultural diversity" or "opportunities for democratic dialogue" and the display would be cancelled.
The exhibit, Stulman said, which is based mainly on the conflict in Palestinian territories, raises questions concerning the destruction of Jewish religious shrines, anti-Semitic propaganda and cartoons in Palestinian newspapers, the disregard for rules of engagement and treatment of prisoners, and the indoctrination of youth into terrorist acts.
"I'm being censored and the reason for censoring me doesn't make sense," Stulman said.
Charles Garoian, professor and director of the School of Visual Arts, said Stulman's controversial images did not mesh with the university's educational mission.
The decision to cancel the exhibit came after reviewing Penn State's Policy AD42: Statement on Nondiscrimination and Harassment and Penn State's Zero Tolerance Policy for Hate, he wrote.
Garoian could not be reached by The Daily Collegian for further comment by press time yesterday.
Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon wrote in an e-mail message that "there are other issues involved in the display that has caused a problem, issues that have nothing to do with the content of the painting." Mahon wrote that he did not know all the details.
"We always encourage those who are offended by free speech to use their own constitutional right to free speech to make their concerns known," Mahon wrote. "This is an educational institution and people should embrace opportunities to inform one another and the public. ... We don't have a right to hide art."
Stulman said the exhibit, which is sponsored by Penn State Hillel, aims to create awareness on campus about the senselessness of terrorism and drew inspiration from images that have appeared in the public through newspapers and television.
He said he was shocked at the university's decision to cancel the exhibit and that he has tried to meet with Garoian on numerous occasions to discuss his artwork.
"It's not about hate. I don't hate Muslims. This is not about Islam," Stulman said. "This is about terrorism impacting the Palestinian way of life and Israel way of life."
Stulman said advertisements for the event were defaced in the Patterson and School of Visual Arts buildings, one of which had a large swastika on it.
Stulman, who is Jewish, said he felt threatened and abused by the Nazi symbol and is concerned for his artwork and his personal well-being.
Garoian also wrote that exhibit space in the School of Visual Arts is reserved for students and faculty, not groups with a particular agenda.
Stulman said he created his paintings on his own and he approached Penn State Hillel in February to help with advertising costs and food for the opening. He said the School of Visual Arts did not object to his earlier exhibit, also sponsored by Hillel.
Tuvia Abramson, director of Penn State Hillel, said while Hillel sponsored the Stulman's exhibit, the group had nothing to do with his message or content.
"We don't have a political agenda except to support the voice of Jewish students," he said.
Abramson said Hillel is exploring other venues for Stulman's exhibits to ensure his message does not go unnoticed.
"It's about opening eyes and challenging viewpoints," Abramson said. "Artistic expression is the basis for creativity -- but here, it was blocked."
--Collegian staff writers Meaghan Haugh and Devon Lash contributed to this article.
Josh Stulman examines his artwork, previously scheduled for an art exhibit that was canceled by Penn State. The painting to the right, by Stulman, is titled “Our Greatest Hero” and depicts Hag Amin Al-Husseini, who was hailed as the greatest Palestinian hero by Yasir Arafat. Other works by Stulman address terrorism toward Jews.
The link below features Penn State professors talking about the importance of free speech and the right of free expression--when it comes to liberal causes. I am sure these professors will run to the aid this young man and get it all sorted out for him.
http://www.post-gazette.com/regionstate/20010227faire8.asp
Or, they may have been concerned that some crazy anti-Muslim freaks would blow up the exhibit if they went the other way.
I actually took three graduate classes from the former head of the PA ACLU many moons ago. Our building featured student art from time to time and one exhibit featured artworks with a **gasp** sexual theme. There was a painting displaying a woman alone, a group of negatives of a bunch of nekkid artists posing (this I found particularly outrageous, probably because I was never invited to those kinds of parties) -- anyway, there was a protest and the artwork was taken down.
The ACLU head who taught in the building wrote a spirited defense of the 1st Amendment for our school paper.
If you can't display controversial artwork at a university, then we have a BIG problem in this country. It looks like our academics aren't as committed to academic freedom as they like to let on. Fascists are bad in ANY walk of life; in a university, they are poison.
For some reason, I doubt the ACLU gives a damned about the Constitution or the First Amendment if it conflicts with the taking of profit.
The e-mail for the Presidents Office is:
president@psu.edu
His name is Graham Spannier
A once great university has sunk to lows that even I couldn't dream of.
Class of 1970
Diversity is the new term for Affirmative Action which is the old term for racism, segregation and hate.
its another form of terrorism. Implied Terror.the consequences of which will at the end of the day be every bit as destructive as an act of physical terror.
No wonder the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education gives PSU a rating of "code red".
bump for later
Art ping!
Let Republcanprofessor; me or woofie know if you want on or off the art ping list.
As always, some of the animals are more equal than others. Penn State's Visual Arts Department seems to be picking the tradtional animal to make less equal. Although the ironic result IMO is to make their own department less equal.
OTOH, if you want to learn how to do art, a university is probably not going to be the place to learn it anyway. The art departments have other fish to fry. I notice that the good books on the actual craftsmanship of painting or drawing tend to be over 50 years old, and hard to get. Nobody knows how to do it anymore, universities stopped teaching it 40 years ago.
Thanks for the ping :-)
Or, they may have been concerned that some crazy anti-Muslim freaks would blow up the exhibit if they went the other way.
You forgot your "sarcasm" tags (I hope).
Good for you. The article is about Penn State, not Penn.
You want me to give you instructions on how to perceive what I say?
IMO, the visual arts department painted itself into a corner. Art departments pride themselves on emphasizing politics as art. Big problem when the politics of a project suddenly don't follow the party line. What do you do then? Censor of course, academic freedom is only for certain people.
Beyond all that, the painting looks crappy.
Although one of my BAs is in Art, I was barred from my senior show as well...I was an Art History major and there was bad blood between the history and studio sides of the department, but I had my comeuppance, as the college library where I had done work-study for four years (and two summers) gave me exclusive use of it's prime exhibit space for the duration the senior show was up in the department gallery...;-)
You're generally correct about universities, and the true technicians will either be there only as adjuncts or working in a dedicated art school. For those who want to be true artisans, traditional apprenticeship is a far better system than a degree program.
"Good for you. The article is about Penn State, not Penn."
I understand, but the post I responded to DID refer to Penn, aka UP. Have a look...
Penn State, home of the Nittany Kittens, is one of the most PC places around.
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