Museum Removes Art Exhibit that Includes Deep-Fried American Flags
Friday, November 17, 2006CLARKSVILLE, Tennessee: An art exhibit featuring deep-fried American flags, complete with peanut oil and black pepper, has been removed by a museum director in this military-friendly town.
Art student William Gentry said his piece, “The Fat Is in the Fire,” was a commentary on obesity in America.
“I deep-fried the flag because I’m concerned about America and about America’s health,” he said.
But the art was taken down Wednesday, less than 18 hours after it went up in this community near Fort Campbell, Tennessee.
“It’s about what the community values,” said Customs House Museum executive director Ned Crouch. “I’m representing 99 percent of our membership — educators, doctors, lawyers, military families.”
He said the timing of the piece could cause “incendiary reactions.”
Treatment of the American flag is an ongoing and passionate debate in the United States.
“Never in the history of the country has the flag been more hated or more loved,” Crouch said.
The exhibit featured three U.S. flags imprinted with such phrases as “Poor people are obese because they eat poorly” and dozens of smaller flags fried in peanut oil, egg batter, flour and black pepper.
