Texas lawmaker removes art he finds objectionable from Capitol hall

A Texas lawmaker didnt like two pieces of art he saw in a hall at the state Capitol in Austin.

So he removed them.

The artworks, part of an exhibit by the Texas Moratorium Network, which wants a two-year moratorium on capital punishment in the state, included a painting of a man being hanged and an illustration of a man in an electric chair, imprinted with the words ‘Doing Gods Work.

Rep. Barris Miles, D-Houston, said he was in the Capitol with his two children and found the painting ‘inappropriate and highly objectionable.

Advocacy groups are allowed to place exhibits in the Capitol as long as they serve what is described as a ‘public purpose and are sponsored by an elected official.

The death penalty is a major issue in Texas, and opinions for or against capital punishment serve a clear public purpose. The artworks in question did not violate any state standards for exhibits in the Capitol and the exhibit has an elected official as a sponsor.

After removing the artworks, Miles took them to the office of the exhibits sponsor, Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston.

While Dutton said he didnt believe in censoring the exhibit, saying it would defeat the purpose, he asked the Texas Moratorium Network to leave the two works out of future exhibits and the group agreed.

First off, it wasnt Miles call to remove the artworks. If Miles had a problem, he should have taken it up with the State Preservation Board, which maintains the Capitol, as a matter of procedure before removing the art.

Secondly, the purpose of the exhibit was to get the Texas Moratorium Networks message across. The group considers the death penalty disturbing to say the least, so its not unusual that some images would be disturbing. That was the whole point.

Thirdly, the artworks in question did not violate any state standards for exhibits in the Capitol.

‘We should not prevent the display of art’ Miles said Tuesday in an Associated Press story. ‘But there have to be limits.

Apparently, though, Miles thinks he is the one who should set those limits and decide what visitors to the Capitol can or cannot see.

And since the others involved have given in, thats just what has happened.