The University of Kansas’ 15 minutes of fame for a controversial art exhibit with a paint-smeared American flag aren’t quite over.
The New York-based Andy Warhol Foundation asked KU officials this week to return the heavily criticized art exhibit to its original location flying over Spooner Hall.
In a letter to KU Chancellor Doug Girod and interim Provost Carl Lejuez, the foundation asked the university to return Josephine Meckseper’s artwork to its original site on the KU campus.
After a storm of protests from an array of politicians, including Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer and Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the exhibit was moved to KU’s Spencer Museum of Art. Critics argued that the exhibit was making a political statement by “desecrating” the American flag.
Locked in a tight gubernatorial primary campaign, Kobach and Colyer went further, calling for the flag to be removed from campus entirely. The university is committed to keeping the flag at the museum until its run ends.
However, the foundation, which has given thousands of dollars to the Spencer Museum over the years, said the exhibit should be displayed as intended “and not be censored as a result of political pressure.”
“Restoring the work to its original location is imperative,” wrote Joel Wachs, president of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
“We would further suggest that it remain displayed through the fall semester so that students coming to campus can see and discuss it,” Wachs wrote.
The university declined comment other than to point to a recent statement that Girod previously made on the issue.
“The University of Kansas prides itself on being a marketplace of ideas that supports engaged and inclusive dialogue with our communities,” Girod said in a statement from July 13.
Following the tenets of artist Andy Warhol’s will, the foundation is committed to the advancement of the visual arts.
The foundation has given more than $200 million in grants to more than 1,000 arts organizations in 49 states and abroad.
A spokeswoman said the foundation has awarded $141,500 to the Spencer Museum over the years to support exhibitions and curatorial research.
She said the foundation contributed more than $800,000 through a partnership with the Charlotte Street Foundation for its regional regranting initiative.
The regranting program supports “under-the-radar” artistic activity through partnerships with various cultural institutions in communities across the country.
