Image Credit: fl3tch3rexhibit.com
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
A publicly funded university in Tennessee has axed a controversial annual art exhibit following conservative backlash. The exhibit would have typically opened next month had it not been canceled.
Last November, exhibition pieces with strong politically driven themes targeting conservatives and Christians were displayed at East Tennessee State University’s (ETSU) Reece Museum, eliciting intense opposition from conservative quarters.
Some of the pieces in last year’s Fletcher Exhibit of Social and Politically Engaged Art included “artwork” that equated Nazi swastikas with Christian crosses and likened conservatives and Christians to Adolf Hitler.
The exhibit, held in remembrance of a former art student who passed away in 2009, invited artists annually to submit pieces addressing “global issues.” Organized by members of Fletcher Dyer’s family, the show had been hosted at ETSU since 2013.
During last year’s presidential election, the 2024 exhibit was criticized by various conservative groups including ETSU’s Turning Point USA chapter. One of the pieces which included hate symbols, featured Turning Point USA’s founder Charlie Kirk as part of a collage of conservative figures.
Lawmakers at both the state and federal level criticized the exhibit and called for its removal.
Last November, ETSU President Brian Noland stated that while he personally found some of the views being expressed in the exhibit “abhorrent,” he felt it was his duty as the president of a public university to ensure that ETSU followed state law as well as the constitution of the United States.
By December, the university had elected to have guests of the exhibit sign a waiver before viewing the pieces on display.
ETSU also placed signs that warned visitors of the controversial content.
This February, the organizers of the exhibit learned that ETSU would no longer host the annual show. In a phone call from a Reece Museum staff member, Dyer’s mother, Barb, was told that the university’s goals no longer aligned with the goals of the exhibit.
In an interview with the Hyperallergic, Barb Dyer said that her son believed in publicly expressing one’s emotions, and (not unlike Charlie Kirk) was an advocate of debate and free speech.
The Dyer family has condemned the killing of Kirk. Carrie Dyer said that Fletcher would not have been okay with what happened to Kirk, despite Turning Point’s opposition to the exhibit.
In the wake of Kirk’s death, two tenured professors at ETSU chose retirement over being fired for callous remarks they made following Kirk’s assassination last month.
The pair were quickly placed on administrative leave after complaints came in about their comments that were made on social media.
Communication Studies and Storytelling Professor Andrew Herrmann chose to retire, while Biomedical Sciences Professor Russell Brown was on track to be fired by the university.
One of the professors allegedly wrote, “This isn’t a tragedy. It’s a victory,” while the other stated, “you reap what you sow.”
Calling the messages “deeply troubling and concerning,” Noland suspended them both after reviewing university policy and ETSU’s faculty handbook in order to conduct a review of their actions.
Because both professors were tenured, the process of being terminated would have entailed multiple steps. At first, Brown chose to contest the university’s actions but later decided he too would retire.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
So ETSU has a degree in “Communication Studies and Storytelling”? I hope the kids who take those classes are rich and didn’t borrow money.