Art review idea gets panned
Councillor calls mayor’s initiative ‘political correctness gone amok’
COUNCILLORS HAVE DECIDED to deal with complaints about city historic statues and artwork some might find racist or objectionable on a caseby-case basis.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger on Wednesday withdrew his plea for a formal staff review of such complaints after several councillors expressed concern that it could create “unnecessary backlash” and be counterproductive.
The decision comes on the heels of controversy over some requests across the country to remove statues and artwork of Canadian historical figures such as Sir John A. Macdonald, because they allege, he or his government, was behind poor treatment of Canada’s Indigenous people.
The mayor’s motion for a formal review “was a good intention, no question,” said Coun. Terry Whitehead.
“But I believe this is one good intention that can have unintended consequences.
“If you create a rallying point for people to hang their hats on, you will create a divided community.”
Eisenberger’s motion for a formal staff review had been prompted by a complaint from the city’s Aboriginal advisory committee about a 1960s-era city hall mural’s depiction of Indigenous people.
The “Things Worth Remembering”
mural by Karl and Lauretta Dix, which depicts various peoples and imagined scenes associated with Hamilton history, includes an Indigenous father showing his son how to use a bow and arrow in the margins of the painting.
Eisenberger said staff was left in a quandary when it received the complaint. “There is no process to assess the validity of the concern,” he said.
The intent was to have a process for staff to review works of art, not to have people question them, he said. “It’s to bring forth a well-thought-out process, not to encourage removal of art, but to have a proper discussion and then decide what action, if any, will be taken.”
Coun. Donna Skelly however, said the suggested review “opens us up to an endless stream of criticism. If we look deep enough, we can find flaws in all of us. This is political correctness gone amok and will leave our community divided.”
Coun. Tom Jackson worried the review would encourage discontent. People like Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, “brought two peoples together — the English and the French — to form a country that allowed my ancestors to come here,” he said.
He and others suggested putting up public art that also honours historic Indigenous people.
“The reality is history is coloured in many different ways.
“You must understand the laws, values and circumstances of the times. And we have evolved as a people — human rights didn’t exist at one point,” said Whitehead.
“I’m not saying we bury the dark side … but if you create a process where an army of people can come and demand removal … you would create a lot of animosity, a lot of anger.”
Coun. Chad Collins suggested there was no need for a formal staff review.
If a citizen is unhappy with art, they bring it to staff, and if still not satisfied with the response, to council, he said, because “The buck stops with council,” as it does with decisions about other matters.
But Coun. Matthew Green, who said Macdonald was a racist even in his own time, argued “it’s not challenging history when you take down … a piece of history. We have to have a reckoning with our past.”
Eisenberger withdrew his motion, saying he was completely fine with leaving the debates and decisions on complaints about statues and art with council.
The reality is history is coloured in many different ways. TOM JACKSON CITY COUNCILLOR