Two colleges — one a public university and one a private arts institution — are taking very different approaches to art exhibits that feature works displaying the Ku Klux Klan.
Salem State University on Wednesday reopened an exhibit that it shuttered last week after minority students complained that the art was insensitive. The exhibit, “State of the Union,” featured art inspired by the election. Several paintings by artists critical of President-elect Donald Trump and his campaign depicted images related to bigotry and oppression — not to endorse Trump but to draw attention to bigotry. But many students questioned why some images — especially one of members of the Ku Klux Klan — should be shown at all.
The artist whose work was criticized, Garry D. Harley, tried at a meeting with students to explain the history of artworks that depict things the artists were horrified by, such as “Guernica,” by Pablo Picasso, which expressed anger over the Spanish Civil War. But students rejected Harley’s explanations.
