Confederate heritage group says art show desecrates flag
Thursday, September 02, 2004
By Paula Reed Ward, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A Confederate heritage group is angry about an upcoming art exhibit at
Gettysburg College -- adjacent to the battlefield -- that it says desecrates
the Confederate flag and is nothing more than a display of hate designed to
stir up controversy and hard feelings.
Members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans say they're planning to stage a
protest tomorrow in response to the opening of the show that will depict a
lynching of the Confederate flag.
"The Recoloration Proclamation: The Gettysburg Redress," was created by
artist John Sims to examine the meaning of the Confederate flag then and
now. The show, which opens tomorrow at Schmucker Art Gallery, includes the
familiar-looking flag in alternative colors and features a flag lynching in
one piece called, "The Proper Way to Hang a Confederate Flag."
Sims, of Sarasota, Fla., initially was scheduled to attend the opening, but
now says that he will not. He's angry that the lynching display, which was
designed to be shown outside with a 13-foot-tall gallows, was moved to the
interior of the gallery by school officials because of security concerns.
Sims has adapted his design for display inside but has said he will not be
at the opening.
Inside or out, the idea of a lynching immediately stirs up images of hate,
and that's exactly what Denne Sweeney, the commander in chief of the Sons of
Confederate Veterans, felt when he heard about Sims' exhibit.
"It just seems like he's an opportunist to me," Sweeney said. "I don't think
this is true art in the sense of an honest display of talent."
But Sims, who could not be reached for comment yesterday, says on his Web
site that the project is about visual terrorism, respect and collective
social self-esteem. After growing up in Detroit, he was offended by the
ever-present Confederate flags he saw on moving to Florida.
"Why must my visual field be subject to images of a lost war?" he writes.
"Why must I endure the discomfort I feel when I see the pickup truck with
the flag? Or even worse, the numbed out black Southerners who have learned
to tune it all out."
By recoloring the Confederate flag, or even lynching it, Sims says, he wants
to create a dialogue about it.
But Sweeney doesn't believe an association can be made between lynchings and
the Confederate flag. He argues that the flag represents his heritage and
says that the majority of Americans don't feel the flag stands for racism.
He says that perception was created by the media.
Dan DeNicola, the provost at Gettysburg College, agrees the flag can
symbolize bravery.
"But to many people, the flag is also a symbol of hatred and bigotry and the
darkest days of our history," he said.
The school's intent in showing the exhibit is to create a dialogue around
the issue.
"You should expect, as part of your education, you will encounter
controversial ideas," DeNicola said.
The 2,600-student college was founded in 1832. During the Civil War, the
school was disrupted by the battle at Gettysburg, and students and faculty
merely walked across campus to hear Abraham Lincoln's famous address.
"We have a definite responsibility, not just to preserve and memorialize. We
should do more than just consecrate the status quo," the provost said.
What Sims is doing in his art, DeNicola believes, is trying to figure out
what should happen to the symbol next.
But Sweeney, who says his group simply wants to honor its ancestors,
believes the exhibit is nothing more than an "outrageous stunt," created to
generate publicity and money.
"I think they're giving a lot of credibility to a simple hate display,"
Sweeney said from his home south of Dallas.
Though Sweeney cannot attend his organization's protest tomorrow at 7 p.m.
at the Peace Light Memorial at Gettysburg National Military Park, he expects
up to 1,000 people will.
Thus far, permits have been approved for one protest at the park, and the
borough of Gettysburg has approved three others for the street outside the
art gallery. One of those was given to H.K. Edgerton, a former president of
the Asheville, N.C., branch of the NAACP and now a supporter of the
Confederate flag. He will stage his own protest tomorrow and read the names
of the thousands of Confederate soldiers killed at Gettysburg.
All of the protests are expected to be peaceful.
"We're not expecting anything," said Walter Powell, the director of planning
for the borough. "[But] we're prepared for just about any eventuality."
There will be extra police officers on hand, and patrons of the art gallery
will have to pass through a metal detector before entering.
For Sweeney and the members of his group, his anger at Sims' exhibit is all
about location.
In Gettysburg, which draws more than 1.7 million tourists every year, the
Confederate flag flies freely over homes and businesses.
"If he wanted to do it in New York City, I would have grumbled a lot, but I
wouldn't have organized a protest," Sweeney said. "You're talking about
sacred ground there, and that's something else entirely."
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(Paula Reed Ward can be reached at [log in to unmask] or 412-263-1601.)
Article: <http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04246/372219.stm>
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04246/372219.stm
Sons of Confederate Veterans: <http://www.scv.org/> http://www.scv.org/
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-----Original Message-----
From: Denise Haynes [ <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, July 25, 2005 1:16 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] A flap in Gettysburg?
Dear List Members,
I was curious if anyone has heard about an art exhibition that is to be or
was held at Gettysburg College, and why people were being asked to boycott
it. Apparently, groups such as Sons of Confederate Veterans were upset
because the art work was supposed to be anti-southern.
Thanks in advance,
Denise
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