In San Francisco, in the Richmond district, high school. George Washington preparing to destroy the frescoes of the «Life of Washington» because of their politically incorrect. Working group unified school district San Francisco came to the conclusion that a work of art offends indigenous peoples and African Americans.
The mural consists of 13 large panels, the damage to the plaster on the walls of the school, depicting different iconic scenes from the life of George Washington. Created the frescoes were in 1936 by the Russian-American artist Victor by Arnautovi in the framework of the project Public Works of Art.
George Washington High School George Washington Considers Removing the Murals Because Students Are Traumatized https://t.co/40YoyQR0e3 pic.twitter.com/xr078yHRq9
— Chuck Woolery (@chuckwoolery) May 3, 2019
As stated in the Richmond SF Blog, on one of the panels depicts slaves, performing chores, and another — the corpse of a native American under the feet of the soldiers of the U.S. army. Some locals said that during a visit to the school should not force students to look at unpleasant images. The working group is school districts with the participation of community representatives, decided that some images are offensive and «hurt students and members of the community.» As the murals created over plaster, they are expected just to paint.
«No evidence was produced to show that the murals had traumatized anyone over the past 83 years. Yet the committee recommended destroying not only the two most controversial panels but the entire series.
Among the densely packed and vividly rendered sce… https://t.co/8vrLhRYTZZ
— Chi Brown (@ConsiderCulture) April 28, 2019
Fergus M. Bordewich, historian, wrote in The Wall Street Journal that the artist’s intention should be taken into account when considering the intention of the images: «There is a wrong habit to extrapolate today’s norms, values, ideals back to our ancestors inevitably fail. It gives out a very alarming intolerance to art, to the ambiguity of art and the aspirations of art.»
In the regional blog was the students who spoke in defense of frescoes. «It’s not quite racism, says 17-year-old Arvinder Chauhan, It shows the real story of George Washington when he first arrived and colonized the Americas — native Americans killed for us to have more land and had slaves on his farm.» Another student, Paul Priemyshev, 16, said that the fresco depicts Washington who he was really.
Historic WPA murals at George Washington High School are facing destruction due to controversial depictions of Native Americans and African-Americans https://t.co/WHSIxJvkDx pic.twitter.com/hu8LFtU8YZ
— Richmond SF Blog (@richmondsfblog) April 9, 2019
The representative of the United school district San Francisco Laura Dudnick says in the Daily Mail that the decision of the working group — not the final: «the Superintendent and staff are currently reviewing the recommendations and choose the best course of action. At the present time was not yet submitted any recommendations to the Board of education SF on this issue».
