Collaboration between art and government sometimes breeds conflict. The postponement of a Mesa, Arizona, art exhibition over a perceived anti-police work by artist Shepard Fairey is the latest in a recent series of conflicts in city-run art shows.

If things had gone as originally planned, Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum would be launching its fall exhibition Friday. But officials postponed the show six weeks before the opening over concern that a painting by activist-artist Shepard Fairey could be seen as “disparaging toward some City of Mesa employees.”

Now, the Phoenix suburb is ready to move forward and debut the show in October, albeit with a prominent disclaimer that the artwork represents only the artist’s views. All the original artists have been invited to remain in the exhibition.

Thomas “Breeze” Marcus will not be one of them. And he says he won’t be displaying any of his work, which focuses on Native American life, in Mesa in the future.

The whole ordeal, in his view, is rooted in censorship.

  • Flying Squid
    2•1 year ago

    You need to re-read the article. The guy I am talking about, Shepard Fairey, is white. And it was his art that was the issue. And by ‘appropriate,’ I mean he directly takes their pictures, slightly modifies them, then sells them. He got sued for doing it for the Obama photo because it’s just a copy of an AP photo he added some colors to and the word ‘Hope’ at the bottom.