In light of recent events in Ferguson, Mo. following the police shooting of Michael Brown, artists in and around the city have begun to find inspiration in the tragedy, and so to have people in other parts of the country. 275 miles away in Lafayette, Indiana, artist Aaron Molden was commissioned to paint a mural as a part of the "small spaces: Lafayette" citywide public art project. Molden created a portrait of a police officer in riot gear on the wall of a pizza restaurant facing the local Lafayette police station.
As you can imagine, the cops were less than thrilled with Molden's piece. Several complaints from the police about the work prompted the owner of the pizza restaurant, Dick Nagel, and the project manager for "small spaces: Lafayette," Margy Deverall, to paint over the mural.
"From what I saw, I can understand why an officer might be upset," police chief Patrick Flannelly told the Journal and Courier, though he added that the officers never voiced their opinion with the department.
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Zach Medler, the curator of "small spaces: Lafayette" has spoken out against Molden's mural being painted over. "My issue with it is free speech," he said. "The situation in Ferguson was why they were offended to begin with. When police complain about it, now we run into First Amendment issues." Medler promised that the mural will be replaced soon and added that the community will "have to wait and see what it is...It'll be good."
[via Artnet]
