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Tuesday, January 17, 2017

'Cops as pigs' painting permanently removed from Capitol


A controversial painting depicting police officers as pigs has been permanently removed from the Capitol complex.

The office of Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Wash., — a former sheriff who officially appealed to the Architect of the Capitol that the painting be removed — confirmed to the Washington Examiner that it was taken down for good on Tuesday.

The painting, done by a black Missouri teenager, was one of hundreds of winners of the Congressional Art Competition. Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., hung it in the tunnel leading from the Cannon building to the Capitol complex.

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14 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is great. First thing they done something right since it never met the requirements / guidelines. It was totally politically incorrect to be hanging there unless you were "anti - Police"

Anonymous said...

Burn it.

Anonymous said...

The hateful painting should be burned.

Anonymous said...

So the KKK could put up paiting too and the NAZIS!! hey why stiffle anyone beliefs. But put up a painting that shows cops as pigs is ok? Man these people are so friggin stupid

Anonymous said...

So the KKK could put up paiting too and the NAZIS!! hey why stiffle anyone beliefs. But put up a painting that shows cops as pigs is ok? Man these people are so friggin stupid

Anonymous said...

I hope the Dc capital police remember the pos who wanted it UP.

Anonymous said...

Inch by inch your freedom of expression will be eroded. I hate the painting but defend the freedom to hang it anywhere.

Anonymous said...

Freedom of speech??? Ask enough people if it should come down and you will find out that popular vote would be YES. I still concerns me that the decision should be decided by one agency or any one person.

Anonymous said...

so can i hang a kkk cartoon above it for free speech ?

Anonymous said...

Ok! If this was truly a freedom of speech issue I would agree -let it stay. But if someone put a painting of Michael Brown depicted as a thug it would not be allowed. So lets put this freedom of speech thing in perspective.

Anonymous said...

It is a common misconception that this painting depicts cops as pigs. First, it is a wild boar, and the "person" the cop is pointing his weapon at is depicted as a wolf. At first glance, I can understand why people think this painting is disparaging to police, but it goes much deeper than that.

LastMohican said...

At first glance, I can understand why people think this painting is disparaging to police, but it goes much deeper than that.

January 18, 2017 at 12:35 AM

What Mr. Patterson and others take contention with about “Untitled #1” is that it depicts in two instances police officers as “pigs.” Now, first of all, I want to point out that suggesting the painting represents officers as pigs are inaccurate. The officers are shown as wild boars, hence the presence of visible tusk. Most hunters will tell you that wild boar are some of the most dangerous wild animals to hunt. Wild boar exhibits widely unpredictable behavior and can be extremely aggressive. I want to point that out, whether initially or not the painting conveys a differing symbolic message, then simply painting the cops as “pigs.”
I can understand how some could find the depiction of police officers as wild boars as being offensive. However, to just look at that image alone overlooks the fact that the police are not the only symbolic animal imagery used in the painting. The “wild boar police” have their guns drawn and pointed at an individual that has the head of a wolf. The entire foreground imagery is the “wild boar police” and the “wolf person.” Once again this adds an element of intrigue for two reasons.
One, the wolf is a natural predator of the wild boar. Additionally, a little known inner-professional double entendres that exist is that the public is sheep, criminals are wolves, and the police are the sheepdogs that protect the flock.
The remaining portion of the painting depicts actual representations of events that occurred during the 2014 Fergusson unrest, or dualistic images of the conflicts that prevent peace and harmony. Between the raven and dove locked in flight, to the educated black male holding the scales of justice, with the light half of Yang outweighing the dark half of Yin. Even the depiction of yin and yang are symbolically interesting elements of the artwork. Yin and Yang is a concept in Chinese philosophy dating back to 300 BC which demonstrate the existence of inseparable and contradictory opposites. The relationship between these two opposites are in constant flux, and when there is too much imbalance between Yin and Yang, catastrophes and chaos can occur.
Ultimately, the symbolic presentation of Yin and Yang sum up the entire piece of art.

Anonymous said...

boara are in the pig family jerk.

Anonymous said...

6:17...interesting perspective; perhaps we all need a bit more openness to insight rather than rush to judgement. By the way, did anyone ask the painter what the significance was or what his intentions were?