Kennebunk Library First Allows, Then Bans, Then Allows, Then Bans, Then Allows Anti-Bush Art

[Hissyspit]

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/11/12/maine_library_to_show_art_that_irks

Maine library to show art that irks
By Peter Schworm
Globe Staff / November 12, 2007
A controversy in Kennebunk, Maine, over collages made of old American flags, including caricatures of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, continues to rustle through the small coastal town near the Bush family's estate and vacation retreat.

First, the Kennebunk Free Library canceled G. Bud Swenson's art exhibit after receiving complaints that his artwork was offensive because it was fashioned from old US flags. At the urging of the library trustees, library officials reversed their decision - but then abruptly removed the caricatures the day of the exhibit's opening last week, saying the two caricatures violated "normative community standards."

Now the trustees have intervened again. They announced Friday the library would display the caricatures, along with the rest of the exhibit, in the interest of free political and artistic expression. Swenson, a 65-year-old carpenter who has been an artist for 40 years, said yesterday he was deeply disappointed by the initial decision and is delighted his entire exhibit is now on display.

"I really give the library credit for having the courage to put the show on," he said yesterday in a phone interview. "The political tensions in this town are on edge, and I knew this would be controversial, so I'm ecstatic about the outcome." Part of an exhibit called "Portraits in a Time of War," Swenson's caricatures depict President Bush with a simpleton grin, while Cheney appears callous and detached. Swenson declined comment on the caricatures, but acknowledged he is a staunch opponent of the Bush administration and the war in Iraq.


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The 13-member board of trustees said in a statement it believed the community could "handle the controversial exhibit" and would ultimately be "better off for embracing intellectual freedom."

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The library's director, Janet Cate, could not be reached for comment. On Nov. 7, Cate was quoted in the Portland Press Herald as saying that the caricatures did not meet "normative community standards," and on Nov. 8, she was quoted in the Portsmouth Herald as calling them "excessively inflammatory."

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[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. what's the beef? The last place George would be found is in a library.

I love the video of his texas pigsty. Ever see a book on any wall? NADA.

I continually run out of places to store books. Always thought that people who had no books at home were, well, strange. Ergo, I think that Bush is strange.

[Hissyspit]

2. .