CHICAGO (WLS) — The controversy over an art display at the Chicago Cultural Center bubbled over to City Hall, where divisions over a pro-Palestinian protest puppet were on full display Tuesday.
Ald. Byron Sigcho Lopez, who represents the 25th Ward, was thrown out of a special city council committee hearing by Chairman Ald. Nick Sposato after other alders accused Sigcho Lopez of calling Ald. Bill Conway a white supremacist.
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“I did not say any names, the media can take it as they please,” Sigcho Lopez said.
“He apologized and said those remarks were not directed towards me, I have no desire– I appreciate that– I have no desire to escalate any further,” said Conway.
More than two dozen alderpersons sent a letter to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson calling for the removal of the art, which includes a large puppet titled “US-Israel War Machine.”
The art exhibit called “Potential Energy Chicago Puppets Up Close” is on full display at the Chicago Cultural Center. The two-sided protest puppet shows a bloodied Uncle Sam on one side and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the other. The wood bases use the words “children killers” and “murders.”
“It conveys hatred of America, hatred of Israel and hatred of Jews,” said Dan Goldwin of the Jewish United Fund.
“The demand to remove this puppet sets a dangerous precedent,” said Mara Wilcox. “Art is not antisemitism.”
“If a puppet depicting Mayor Johnson with blood on his hands was submitted display would that be showcased?” asked 50th Ward Alderwoman Debra Silverstein.
Silverstein and the majority of the City Council sent a letter to the Commissioner of Cultural Affairs and Special Events demanding Clinée Hedpseth remove the art display from a public building.
Hedspeth was summoned to the special city council committee hearing to explain the vetting process of the art exhibit. She said it was chosen out of 250 exhibits by a panel of 16 people, and that to remove it will take a committee of the artists, the curators and organizations that opposite it.
“To the artists in the City of Chicago, you are heard the creativity that flames within you will not be stomped out by one person, unilaterally,” she said. “There is a process to have controversial art removed.”
The commissioner said the art display is now under review. Meantime, alders on both sides of the controversy said the special meeting was a waste of their time.
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