U. of Kansas removes altered flag art

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An art display that included an altered U.S. flag will be moved from an outside display on the University of Kansas campus to the school’s art museum after Gov. Jeff Colyer and other Republican political candidates complained that it was disrespectful.

Kansas Chancellor Doug Girod said in a statement that the display, which was part of a national art project called “Pledges of Allegiance,” caused conversations on Wednesday that “generated public safety concerns for our campus community.” He didn’t elaborate on the safety concerns.

Girod said the display, which had flown on a flag police outside Spooner Hall on the Lawrence campus, will be moved to the university’s Spencer Museum of Art “where we can continue the important conversation it has generated.”

The flag was removed from the outside display about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, about an hour after Colyer’s spokesman said Girod had agreed to take it down.

The display, called “Untitled (Flag 2)” is the last of a series of flag pieces that have flown on the Lawrence campus since last fall as part of “Pledges of Allegiance,” which involves 11 institutions at 14 locations across the country. “Untitled (Flag 2)” was installed July 5 and shows two black shapes on the flag along with a blackand-white sock. The artist, New York-based Josephine Meckseper, said it represents a deeply polarized country.