An exhibition of politically charged paintings — including depictions of Donald Trump alongside swastikas and white supremacy hoods — at a public Tennessee university has Republican lawmakers outraged and demanding it be shut down immediately.
The temporary art exhibit — housed at the Reece Museum on East Tennessee State University’s campus — includes controversial imagery comparing President-elect Trump to Hitler and the Ku Klux Klan, and tying other prominent conservatives to fascists and extremist groups.
One painting that drew particular ire depicts House Speaker Mike Johnson in front of a swastika morphing into a Christian cross, while another work showcases an American flag stitched in the characteristic shape of a KKK hood.
The works are part of the university’s 2024 Fletcher Exhibit, which this year held open submissions for art exploring “societal and political concerns” and “current issues that affect contemporary culture,” according to its website.
But Republican lawmakers as far away as Washington, D.C. felt some of the entries amounted to little more than “extremely dangerous left-wing propaganda.”
“I, along with many students at ETSU, find the exhibit disturbing and hateful,” wrote US Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) in a letter to the university Friday voicing his “serious concerns” and demanding the exhibit — scheduled to end on Dec. 6 — be closed sooner.
Republican state Sen. Rusty Crowe joined in the outrage, saying Americans have freedom of speech, but that sometimes “freedom of speech has consequences.”
“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. It’s just not representative of our Northeast Tennessee spirit. It’s hateful. It’s divisive. It’s not good,” Crowe told WJHL.
US Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) called the painting of Speaker Johnson “an abhorrent mockery of my Christian faith” that “associates many of my close colleagues with such hateful symbolism.”
“I feel sorry for the many outstanding students at ETSU who have had to endure this display on their campus,” she added, demanding the painting be removed.But the painter of the Johnson piece – artist Joel Gibbs – was baffled by the criticism, and pointed out that both sides of the aisle had “every opportunity” to submit their own work.
“If they want to do a pro-gun piece of artwork, they want to do an anti-abortion piece of artwork. By all means, they might make something very effective. Might change somebody’s mind,” Gibbs told WJHL.
“It might really strike somebody rather than just complain, get out there and make the art, get your point across. That’s what America is about, an exchange of ideas,” he added.
Gibbs titled the painting “Evolution,” and said it amounted to “a very large political cartoon” reflecting his views on Christianity and contemporary conservatism.“The fascism we seem to have in this country has attached itself to extreme right Christian groups,” Gibbs said.
Linking Republicans to Nazis and other fascist extremist groups became a familiar tune in the run-up to Election Day — with Trump repeatedly being compared to Hitler and labeled a threat to democracy by many left-wing pundits and media personalities.
Some ETSU students supported calls to close down the exhibit — even if they thought Gibbs’ and other artists’ intentions weren’t to be offensive.“It’s just an expression of raw emotions, almost truly trying to express how they feel but I think that it’s something that’s really been taken too far,” said student Joseph Harlan Savery.
University President Brian Noland agreed with the disdain for Gibbs’ painting — saying he personally found it and other works at the exhibit “abhorrent” — but said he was bound by state laws to allow them to remain on display.
“I am working to gain more information, and we will undertake an examination of the process through which we allow guest artists, speakers, and other third-party groups to present information on campus,” Noland said.
