Some CBCS student artwork banned from display in school

Pieces deemed “inappropriate” by administration

by Olivia Lueckemeyer

Out of seven pieces of artwork created by advanced placement (AP) art students at the Crested Butte Community School, four have been deemed “inappropriate” for young students or students at risk and therefore unfit for public display within the building.

The pieces, part of an annual AP art project judged by a panel of two teachers and three previous student participants, have been moved to the conference room, where they will remain for viewing by approved individuals. In past years the pieces have been critiqued and displayed in the library before being moved to a public location within the school for long-term exhibition. However, due to the “inappropriate” nature of certain pieces, the artwork will not be permitted to hang in a public school space.

AP art teacher Ben McLoughlin explained that the decision to move the critiquing process from the library to the conference room was based on his and secondary school principal Stephanie Niemi’s opinion that some of the pieces were unsuitable for viewing by certain students.

“I knew that one of the pieces for sure needed to be covered up, but I had forgotten about some of the other ones and the subjects some other kids chose,” McLoughlin explained. “Those pieces were inappropriate for younger viewers.”

Because CBCS houses kindergarten through 12th grade students, administrators are particular about what is displayed in public spaces. Some of the pieces in this project portrayed instances of suicide, gun violence and underage drinking, themes that Niemi, secondary school assistant principal Bob Picarro and secondary school counselor Jennifer Read worried might cause emotional trauma in some viewers.

“I thought that it was understood that the student work would not be publicly displayed at school because this is a K-12 facility, and school should be a safe haven for everyone,” Niemi explained. “It is not acceptable to traumatize or re-traumatize anyone.”

For the art project, students were instructed to choose a newspaper article from any publication and to create a piece that incorporated the article as well as its theme. No limitations were placed on subject matter; however, McLoughlin says certain school-wide rules apply to every assignment.

According to Bob Pannier, father of 17-year-old AP art junior Rowan, his daughter’s piece included a clip from the Crested Butte News detailing a New Year’s Eve party where several minors were cited with minor in possession charges. According to the administrators, Rowan’s piece portrayed underage drinking and was therefore inappropriate for public display.

Pannier relayed his and his wife’s disappointment, not in the administration’s labeling of the piece as “inappropriate,” but rather its refusal to display the piece their daughter worked so hard on.

“It’s not really wrong that they found things to be inappropriate, but that they never made any effort to show the art that these kids took weeks to do,” Pannier explained.

Pannier also expressed his confusion as to why students who are held to a higher creative standard would be punished for selecting mature themes.

“One thing that is interesting is we are talking about students who are taking on basically college-level art classes, so the subject matters they are picking, in all likelihood, will be a bit more thoughtful than whatever they may have picked in the past,” Pannier said. “The AP art class here really does try to push the boundaries and make the students think about how they create their art and what they make their art about.”

McLoughlin echoed this sentiment, explaining that AP students are allowed more freedom when it comes to content.

“I handle the AP class differently from my other classes because of the level they are at,” McLoughlin explained. “They are more mature and can handle more mature subject matters.”

 

While Pannier sympathized with the administration’s desire to shield young children from mature subject matters, he felt sorry for the students whose enthusiasm has been dampened by the school’s decision to keep their creations confined to a non-public space.

“You’ve got a situation where there isn’t a right or a wrong, but there may have been a better way to handle this, especially as far as the students are involved,” Pannier said.

According Niemi and McLoughlin, this isn’t the first time certain pieces have been prohibited from public display due to questionable content. Niemi reiterated that it is her job to protect students from emotional distress, and said her intentions were noble in coming to this decision.

“Through years of our collaboration, Ben and I do not always allow every piece of student art to be displayed. In this case, that message was conveyed to some students who were potentially working on serious topics,” Niemi explained.

“In the end, I commend the students for their thought provoking, quality work, and rich conversations about such,” she continued. “At the same time, as educators, we need to continue to communicate about potentially controversial matters, find the best intellectual, social and emotional balance when teaching about such, and ultimately be respectful of the entire school community.”

Elementary school principal Sally Hensley also chimed in to support Niemi in her decision.

“The collection includes pieces that are not suitable for elementary students to see,” Hensley said. “While we value our students’ creativity and expression, we have to be sensitive to the developmental and emotional levels of each of our students.

“When and how children are exposed to mature content is a decision that lies with parents and families,” she continued. “It is not our place to override these decisions by providing access to such. Is this censorship, or discretion?”

Niemi said it is still up to McLoughlin to decide what he wants to do with the pieces, and that they may be able to allow certain students to view the art with parental consent. McLoughlin is also looking into the possibility of showing the pieces outside of school.

“We are exploring ways to show it at the Piper Gallery, but within our school setting it’s just not appropriate,” McLoughlin said. “I hope an appreciation for what we did comes out of this. In my mind we are able to look at these difficult subjects in a thoughtful manner and hear what they mean to these students. That’s not why I chose this project but I think it’s a real benefit of the visual arts.”