Student art depicting pig police officer removed ahead of art show
A piece of student artwork portraying a pig in a police uniform was removed before the opening of a long-running annual art show following complaints.
The Madeira City School District is not identifying the student but said organizers of the annual Madeira Art Show requested removal of the artwork. The piece, along with other student work, was displayed in the Madeira Municipal Building for public viewing prior to the May 5 art show.
Public reaction to the student art, specifically the piece depicting police as pigs, was strong.
In a public Facebook post, Kellie Gantzer Williams shared the artwork and said that she wrestled with whether to say anything.
“I support free speech and pouring your feelings into artwork,” she wrote. “But this goes way beyond that, it promotes hatred and divisiveness. I just can’t believe this is hanging in a municipal building.”
The Madeira Police Department described the artwork as depicting a pig dressed in a police uniform with a background collage of news articles referencing deadly force used by police officers in the line of duty.
“Images of this art project began circulating on social media and our office did receive complaints about it,” according to the statement. “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. However, officers are troubled by the perceived message of the student's art project.”
The artwork was part of the student exhibit that hangs annually in the Madeira Municipal building, according to City Manager Tom Moeller. The works feature the original creations by Madeira students of various grade levels. There were dozens of pieces of art displayed.
“In the past, we have never seen a reason, or never came across a reason, to inspect what is being displayed in the municipal building,” Moeller said. “That’s one thing we’re going to discuss with the Madeira Schools. When this piece was apparently first noticed, our police department was notified. We, in turn, notified Madeira Schools. They reacted quickly and had it removed before the show actually started.”
SUBSCRIBE NOW for unlimited access to our coverage on Cincinnati.com
Superintendent Kenji Matsudo said the show’s organizers, the Madeira Woman’s Club, requested the piece be removed.
Social media posts specifically demeaning the student occurred, and out of concern for the safety of the student, the parent was contacted and understood the actions taken at the time, Matsudo said.
The artwork was created by a student as part of an assignment, Matsudo said. Students were asked to reflect on news articles and to make a visual summarization of the articles.
“It was a visual representation of that. I think if we had it all to do over again, we would have paused and put up a different piece of art,” Matsudo said. “I don’t know that he intended it to be anything other than ‘this is my assignment.’ I don’t know that he was making any political statement.”
The Fraternal Order of Police, Ohio Valley Lodge 112, was criticized for a Facebook post calling the work a "piece of trash." While many agreed with the sentiment, others were mad the image posted by the lodge revealed the student's name.
The post has since been removed. The police union did not return calls for comment.
On the union's page, one person left a review stating the lodge was irresponsible and said, "Art is meant to evoke feelings and cause reactions. It's not meant to pacify."