The Pursuit of Liberty

I just don't know where to begin. So I'll thank Andy Towle for the heads up. It seems a certain county Commissioner Mark C. Scott of reading believes Berks County native Keith Haring's work is obscene and should not be displayed on the side of a public building. The mural, of the Statue of Liberty created by Haring and 900 school children, will not be shown do to the fact that Scott fears that taxpayers should not embrace Haring, do to work he viewed on a web site featuring Haring's work. "I'm surprised that of all the artists that have come out of Berks County, this one would be embraced by the board of the Reading Public Museum." he's quoted as saying. Funny, I thought Haring was one of the most renowned artists of modern times, just a thought.

Scott continues, "Some of this art, even the Statue of Liberty, looks more like bathroom graffiti in a seedy bar than it does artwork." Hmmm, I wonder what kind of bathrooms Scott's been hanging out in? I just hate the fact that some asshole with a bit of power, who knows nothing about art, is able to have so much power over what one can view. Sad day indeed when Haring's cannot get the respect from his hometown he deserves. Good luck to the Reading Public Museum as an exhibition of Haring's work makes it debut on February 18th. Somehow, I doubt Commissioner Scott will be attending.