Kent State student's violent anti-Trump art display spurs outrage
A Kent State University student art exhibit featuring a violent image of President Donald Trump was taken down last Thursday after it spurred outrage.
The exhibit depicted the president's head on a stake with blood pouring down his face. Alongside it read the message, "We only have to get lucky once."
According to the campus newspaper The Kent Stater, the depiction was part of a student's senior thesis project.
Other government officials were similarly displayed with their heads on stakes, the report said. A painting of The Last Supper with Trump and his allies was also reportedly featured in the student project.
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The exhibit, which was prominently displayed in front of a window of Kent State's Center for the Visual Arts last week, caused a social media frenzy after photos of it were shared online.
Kent State President Todd Diacon released a statement on April 19 addressing the controversy.
"In recent days, considerable social media attention has been paid to a display of student art produced in a class within our Bachelor of Fine Arts program. The work depicted violence toward elected officials and in no way reflected the point of view of Kent State," the president said.
Diacon explained that after the university learned of the project on Wednesday evening, it put up a barrier to limit access to only those who wanted to see the image.
The student then voluntarily took the project down last Thursday.
Diacon said the art exhibit led to strong reactions on both sides, including threats of violence.
He lamented how the controversy had played out on social media and defended the university for responding in a timely manner.
"Depictions of political violence are especially problematic for Kent State. We know from our history what happens when polarized viewpoints intersect with violence. We have addressed what took place this past week. We regret that some purveyors of information on social media chose not to update their coverage when the art was voluntarily removed and thus contributed to a confused account of what took place," he said.
"To reiterate: The artwork was removed voluntarily and quickly."
Diacon also affirmed the university's commitment to upholding freedom of speech under the First Amendment.
He thanked the student artist for taking down the exhibit "given the sensitivities of the history of violence on our campus." Kent State was the site of an infamous 1970 massacre during an anti-war rally.
A Kent State spokesperson referred Fox News Digital to Diacon's public statement.
Student Rorke McCullough, who created the project, and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.