ROCKLAND - Free speech clashed with free expression on a downtown street corner Saturday as artists opposed to war protested the showing of combat paintings of Marine Sgt. Michael Fay at the Farnsworth Art Museum. Sgt. Fay stood ramrod straight when confronted by the small group of protesters upset with the Farnsworth for exhibiting his paintings of combat forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The afternoon sun reflected off the combat ribbons pinned to his green uniform, and the red chevrons on his sleeves glinted in the finish of his spit-shined shoes as Fay listened to his challengers.
Fay told the group he recognized their right to voice their opinion but reminded them that he had a right to express himself as well.
"I think it's great that we can have a passionate debate," Fay told the protesters. "I am not a spokesman for the war. But am I proud to be a Marine? You bet."
About a half-dozen artists carried signs and stood vigil outside the Farnsworth as the show "Fire and Ice: Marine Corps Combat Art from Afghanistan and Iraq" was previewed for museum members. Fay's paintings show soldiers carrying out their daily duties while serving on hostile ground...
...The protesters objected to the show's content and what they claimed was the museum's "implicit support of war." They said a more balanced show would include images of civilian deaths and mass destruction. More...
http://www.bangornews.com/news/templates/?a=108388I disagree with this war and it's leader; I question the museum's motives; and I think the "artist" is a tool. But it seems to me that the protesters are being...um....just a little hypocritical. Since when is an art exhibition supposed to be balanced?