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The University of Southern Maine has removed three paintings from an art exhibit on campus because the artist is a sex offender, The Portland Press Herald reported. University officials said that they acted after a complaint from a relative of the victim of the sex crime for which the artist was convicted and served time in prison, and that their decision had nothing to do with the art itself. Janice L. Moore, curator of the show, is calling the removal of the paintings censorship. She placed a note on the wall where the three paintings had previously been, saying, “This painting has been removed by order of the USM president.”
Moore said in an interview with the Press Herald, “He was convicted for his crime and he paid his debt. The act of making art, to me, it seems is a very positive thing. You are contributing to society in a positive way. I don’t understand how that should be punished.”
