Secret Service Investigating Art Exhibit

[linwood]

[size=-1] "We need to ensure, as best we can, that this is nothing more than artwork with a political statement," Mazur said.

What the hell else would it be?

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050413/ap_on_re_us/secret_service_exhibit_5[/size]

 

[Sunstone]

Our tax dollars at work!

 

[CaptainXeroid]

It's no big surprise that the Secret Service considers a picture of the President with a gun pointed at his head to be a potential 'threat'. They've been taking these kind of threats serious for years.

btw... I think the link got messed up. Story.

 

[michel]

Why oh why didn't the artist include Tony Blair ?; they look so 'fetching' together - they could each have a gun pointing at the other!!!!!:jiggy:

 

[Druidus]

This almost makes me mad enough to do one myself. Too bad I'm in Canada, and happen to be unable to draw for crap. Only computer art for me. Even then, only landscapes...

 

[Mister Emu]

Well, really now what do you expect. The secret service's job is to keep the pres. nice and healthy, and someone drew stamps with a gun pointed at his head. Of course they are going to investigate.

Edit: whew glad I caught that one. "V" and "C" are too close to each other. :149:

 

[linwood]

Well, really now what do you expect. The secret service's job is to keep the pres. nice and healthy, and someone drew stamps with a gun pointed at his head. Of course they are going to incestigate.

And what do they hope to discover?

A crazed artist concealing a #4 fan brush stalking Pennsylvania Ave?

I just don`t get it.

Whats the point?

 

[Mister Emu]

To make sure the fake stamps weren't a foreshadowing of an attempt on Bush's life.

 

[linwood]

To make sure the fake stamps weren't a foreshadowing of an attempt on Bush's life.

Ahhh..so the are looking for a crazed artist concealing a #4 fan brush stalking Pennsylvania Ave.

Ok.

 

[Mister Emu]

Probably more like a crazed artist in a window with a .50 caliber sniper rifle on pennsylvania Ave.

 

[scitsofreaky]

Probably more like a crazed artist in a window with a .50 caliber sniper rifle on pennsylvania Ave.

Then why didn't the artist depict himself shooting the president?

 

[CaptainXeroid]

Then why didn't the artist depict himself shooting the president?

Anything you say, draw, or do may be held against you in a court of law. But I guess under the 5th Amendment protections against self-incrimination, the painting would be inadmissable at trial.

I think most of us can look at the painting and realize that it is little more than political expression. I think most of us also support Freedom of Speech, even if we don't agree with the message. However, we also need to remember that the Secret Service is not what we would call a fun-loving bunch of party animals. Their mission is to take any kind of expression that in any way could be construed as a threat very seriously. Granted, they do that to the point of absurdity...but they feel that is the purpose for their existence,

 

[Jaymes]

I think it's dumb that they have to investigate it, but it is their job. As long as they aren't burning the painting or anything, I don't see a huge problem with it. Just an annoying one.

 

[BUDDY]

Brown said the agents were most interested in Chicago artist Al Brandtner's work titled "Patriot Act," which depicted a sheet of mock 37-cent red, white and blue stamps showing a revolver pointed at Bush's head.

There are a lot more important things that are happening in government to be concerned about, than the secret service doing a job that they have done for every president since Grant. Any threatening image against the President has to be investigated. It is part of the Secret Service charter, and they can't refuse to do so. I wouldn't blame anyone but the artist for this. He should have known that he would catch some heat for it.

 

[Mr Spinkles]

Meanwhile, in an alternate universe.....

Associated Press

Two body gaurds were wounded today when a man shot at President Bush with a pistol at a press conference. The man had spent the last three months making artwork depicting dozens of images of President Bush with a revolver to his head, authorities say. The exhibit was called "Patriot Act".

"We knew about the artwork," a Secret Services official told reporters, "but it seemed pretty obvious that it was just a political statement." The official pointed out that if the artist had been planning anything, he probably would have depicted himself shooting the President. "All the artwork showed was a revolver to the President's head, so we figured at worst he'd just throw a gun at him," he said. He added, "it just would have been dumb to investigate it."

Good to see our tax dollars going to good use, huh? Jeez! How did they not see it coming?

 

[linwood]

Meanwhile, in an alternate universe.....

Good to see our tax dollars going to good use, huh? Jeez! How did they not see it coming?

You go ahead and live in your alternate universe Spinks.
I`ll stick with reality thanks.

 

[Mr Spinkles]

You go ahead and live in your alternate universe Spinks.
I`ll stick with reality thanks.

Uh huh. And in linwood's reality, when does a 'political statement' become something threatening enough to warrant a conversation with the artist? Does it only become worthy of investigation when, as scitsofreaky suggested, the artist depicts him/herself shooting the President?

 

[linwood]

Uh huh. And in linwood's reality, when does a 'political statement' become something threatening enough to warrant a conversation with the artist?

Never.

 

[Mr Spinkles]

Never.

I'll stick with the secret service's way of doing things, thanks.

 

[Melody]

To make sure the fake stamps weren't a foreshadowing of an attempt on Bush's life.

Well, I have a picture of Bush tacked on my dart board. It doesn't mean I'm going to go out and throw little pointed darts at his head the next time he comes to Michigan.