New Jersey high school’s police brutality-focused art show causes outrage in Westfield

A student art show at New Jersey's Westfield High School has inspired outrage following the display of police-brutality focused artwork, with critics calling the exhibit "one-sided" and "ignorant."

The show, which ran May 12 to 14, actually revolved around three compelling themes chosen by Westfield students themselves: "Modern Technology Advances," "Gender Equality" and "Law Enforcement — Police Brutality." Ultimately, the resulting artwork for the final topic went on to anger area parents.

Images from the show, first obtained from a former Westfield student by NJ.com, depict everything from officers aiming weapons at unarmed, submissive figures, to, in one piece, a man stabbed in the back by a police officer's badge.

The reaction, of course, is interesting because it was the students who chose the topics, not the school — which would seem to indicate that police brutality is a topic of great concern to Westfield's young people. And, as student Kayla Miller told NJ.com, participating artists "were told they would not be in trouble for their own opinions."

However, judging by the responses and reviews on the school's Facebook page, that last part wasn't exactly true. Via Westfield's page:

But despite a flood of negative comments, some supports have begun to show up as well:

Ultimately, though, it would seem that Westfield would like to move on, and the school's administration appears to be standing by its students. In fact, Westfield Superintendent Dr. Margaret Dolan issued a statement of moderate support on the subject, saying that the objective was to "encourage the students to look at more than one side of an issue.

"I am sorry that information that has been passed along via social media and elsewhere has not told the entire story and has led some to believe that we do not respect law enforcement," Dolan wrote. "We do, and we are teaching our students to do the same."

[NJ.com | TapInto | HyperAllergic]