Summary A news article written by Gary Warth, entitled, “San Diego Congressman Removes Student Painting from Capitol Hill Wall After Complaints it was Offensive,” offers us a depiction into the state of our country and how art has the power to be offensive. (Warth) The art work was on display in one of the connecting hallways in Washington, D.C. that was used as an entrance by many members of law enforcement before it was removed by Congressman Hunter. The painting, done for an art contest by a high school student, depicted police as “boars” or a pig and the criminals as wolves or panthers. (Warth) Police were called “pigs” as early as 1811 where there is a reference to police as pigs in the Oxford English Dictionary. The phrase did not catch on in the United States until the 1968 Democratic National Convention held in Chicago. The phrase was used by young protestors as a derogatory name for police and was soon picked up by the …show more content…
Secondly, we see value in the freedom of artistic expression which Congressman Clay believes is what the U.S. Capital symbolizes. (Warth) Relationships These two values have a Conflicting Relationship. The value of respect for law enforcement led Congressman Hunter to personally remove the art work from the wall. The painting was viewed by Hunter as “not helpful after a year when many police officers had been killed in the line of duty.” (Warth) Freedom of artistic expression was not just a value of Congressman Clay but also by Hunter. Hunter saw the value in freedom of artistic value because he stated that if Clay put the art work back on the wall he “would not take the painting down again.”