Art Forum Audience Questions

Here are the questions submitted to the panelists during the Tuesday, October 23 Forum on Art and Free Expression at Northwestern College.

Anyone may comment on this blog. If you would like to post, send an email to wacome@nwciowa.edu

Questions Directed to the Panel as a Whole:

What do you think the act of art censorship says to future and current art students at NWC?

I wonder if we should be having such conversations without the artist present to defend himself and give his responses. It feels like gossip. I know that through his artist’s statement he has already given his opinions and feelings but it seems it would be most fair to hear his responses to this controversy. Reactions?

How might we have better “prepared” or properly “placed in context” this art exhibit?

In what way(s) is the current art display alike, or different from, the OT prophets critique of the nation [of] Israel?

In 1991 (?) the flag was on display—was there the same controversy? If not, why not? Was there a statement then?

When I heard of the controversy, I wondered if this objet d’art was an actual American flag that had been dyed or sullied. Rather, I note it is a piece of selected fabrics sewn together in a replica of a flag. The artist statement is no more shocking than St. John referring to Babylon as a whore. Sometimes artists use imagery to cause us to think about aspects of our lives. We are suppressing the very freedom the Veterans have fought to preserve. Reactions?

Questions Directed to Individuals on the Panel

For the Rev. Ter Beest

Are “freedom of expression” and “Christian education” intrinsically antithetical? The beginning of your letter seems to me to say this.

How do you fell about the fact that Dr. Murphy wants to prepare the community for future controversial art exhibits?

How does Northwestern being a Christian college affect whether this piece of art should be displayed?

Did all veterans who protested realize this was not a real flag dipped in black ink? (But rather an artist’s representation of a flag.) Might that have been part of the misunderstanding and difference of opinion on this issue, or would it not have made a difference?

Also: as your experiences as a veteran have led you to a deep respect for the flag, do you not think that veterans with different experiences in war may come back with views more in line with that of the artist? If you ask veterans who witnessed the killing of innocents in Viet Nam, or the torture of prisoners in Iraq, or have ended up in homeless shelters or without adequate medical care upon their return, they may tell a different story. Why should the opinion of veterans who still see the flag as white and red be more important than the opinion of veterans who may now see it more as black? What troubles me about all this is the tendency of people like yourself to paint all veterans as a uniform group with a particular set of beliefs.

For Pres. Murphy

Did you consult with art faculty, other faculty, and other artists before making your decisions? How many working artists are on the Board of Trustees? Why is that?

How can you assure faculty and students that a similar controversy about a classroom subject won’t succumb to the similar pressure from an organization outside the campus?

The “untitled” piece was not shown due to its “blasphemous” or questionable parts on the floor, but was shown tonight and I wonder why it was, as I’m not sure it cultivates an open dialogue. So President Murphy why did you or others choose for it to be put out?

You just said that the statement lacks “love and respect” and yet Greg Schoon was consistently not shown love and respect by any Christian audience or organization. How can we expect his art to express these emotions when communities of god ostracized and outcasted him? Do you think his art is a direct response to (or result of) Christianity or the Christian community?

Is it right to have shut down the whole exhibit and punish the other artists who contributed their work? Why not only the two offending pieces removed and the rest left open?

Why do you think that the lack flag is such a controversy this time around and not when black flag was displayed last time around?

For Prof. Joonna Trapp

Are there any limits to academic freedom? Does our being a Christian college constrain in any way academic freedom? Why or why not?

Do you believe, albeit the diplomatic assurances provided by the college that external pressure wasn’t indeed the focal reason for the closure of the exhibition?

How can we not stop/hinder dialogue?

For C.J. Wurpts:

As a student, do you feel that Northwestern should allow their programs (arts, athletics, and academics) to publicly broadcast messages of hate towards any people or people groups; in our case, lazy Americans, stupid Bush, and Christians (those “sleazy whore(s)”)?

Can I borrow you cooking utensils this weekend?