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‘An unprecedented requirement for a political art exhibition’

The Reece Museum at East Tennessee State University has hosted since September the Fletcher Exhibit’s “Evolution,” artist Joel Gibbs’ response to what he believes is the growth of fascism in the U.S.

The piece depicts U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson in front of swastikas which “morph” into crosses (pictured), part of Fletcher’s solicited submissions that are “committed to social justice and support ‘artwork that advocates for democracy, voting rights, and confronts systemic racism,’” according to Inside Higher Ed.

The piece eventually drew the ire of “state officials, community members, and ETSU students” with one GOP state senator saying he was “appalled” by the image, WJHL reports.

“We have freedom of speech, but freedom of speech has consequences,” State Senator Rusty Crowe said. “And I think the consequences in this case, in my view, should be that these people that approve of this on campus should not be on our campus.”

Tennessee U.S. Representative Diana Harshbarger demanded Gibbs’ piece be removed, calling it “hateful” and saying “It’s an abhorrent mockery of my Christian faith and associates many of my close colleagues with such hateful symbolism.”

An ETSU student compared the Gibbs work to “kind of like shouting fire in a crowded theater or doing something to that extent.”

In response to the backlash, ETSU put a “content warning” on the piece and began requiring visitors to sign a waiver before entering.

A university spokesperson told IHE the school “has enacted similar protocols in the past and doesn’t discriminate based on the political viewpoints of the subject or event.”

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The waiver requirement particularly concerns free speech advocates such as the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).

“[T]he mandatory consent waiver is an unprecedented requirement for a political art exhibition,” FIRE said in a joint statement with the National Coalition Against Censorship. “It improperly burdens visitors who want to see an exhibition and demands that they surrender their anonymity and privacy in a political context that is obviously hostile to the views in the exhibited work.”

“The inflammatory and sensationalist waiver is likely to deter many viewers from seeing the exhibition and engaging with its artworks,” read the statement from FIRE and NCAC. “It does little to inform visitors, but rather tells them how those in power want them to view the exhibition. It also puts each visitor on notice that their identifying information will be collected in a list of all those who have attended an exhibition ‘disfavored’ by government and school officials.”

Aaron Corpora, program officer for FIRE’s campus rights advocacy division, said in an email to Inside Higher Ed that the waiver requirement “violates the right to anonymity by requiring visitors to identify themselves to the government before engaging with the art,” citing U.S. Supreme Court case law (McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission, 1995), which has upheld both anonymous expression and the right to listen to or receive messages.

However, law professor Josh Blackman of South Texas College said he’s “not sure the principles of academic freedom extend beyond the classroom” into a museum such as Reece: “There’s protection for speech in an academic context, but I don’t know that it extends to the government display of artwork,” he said.

UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh added that ultimately “this is a dispute over what kind of partisan advocacy should be displayed on government property.”

For his part, Gibbs said he’s had pieces on display previously at the library, but believes “Evolution” got the attention it did due to the presidential election.

He claimed the Fletcher Exhibit “invites all social and political artworks, not just those left-of-center,” and as such conservatives “should create their own art” for it such as “pro-gun” or “anti-abortion” pieces.

According to his website, Gibbs is “an educator, a world traveler, a lifelong learner” who taught English in China and art in rural North Carolina.

“As a pragmatist,” he says on the site, “I am interested in separating the real from the ‘fake’ and am often appalled by the victimization and marginalization of various people and groups.”

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IMAGE: Peta/X

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