Decapitated Trump Painting On Display At University Of Alaska Anchorage Art Gallery

[Anchorage, Alaska] A controversial painting by Assistant Professor Thomas Chung was recently put on display by the University of Alaska at Anchorage.

Assistant Professor Thomas Chung, Painting, Department of Art

The painting features a nude Chris Evans - the actor who played Marvel's Captain America - holding the severed head of President Donald Trump. A young Hillary Clinton is also shown, but she is clinging to Evans' leg.

KTTU-TV reported Professor Chung spent his days after the 2016 election "just weeping." He describes himself as a social artist who usually stays out of politics, but Trump becoming the POTUS "bled into that."

At first, he was hesitant to display the painting, fearing it would disturb students. Eventually, he submitted it to the university's gallery, hoping it would spark a conversation.

"I was really torn about putting this piece up [at a] faculty show, because I would never talk about my own political beliefs to my students. I would never push that upon them and make them feel uncomfortable, and so I wondered to myself if putting up this painting was in a way doing that. But I realized that I feel very strongly about this, and I think even students that might be pro-Trump supporters could benefit from having a conversation with me about why I feel this way — why I painted this." - Assistant Professor Thomas Chung

A fellow former professor of UAA, Paul R. Berger, posted on Facebook saying he was "not sure how I want to respond to this." Berger identifies himself as a conservative.

He said, “First thing that comes to mind is freedom of expression, fair enough (although, I might wager the severed head of our former president might illicit a different response from the administration of UAA and their student body). The second is public funding of our university system.”

The post has since been deleted, but below is a screenshot of a cached version of it:

Berger told KTUU, “Had the roles been reversed, and it was Obama’s head hanging there, I think the outrage would be fantastic. As a free speech advocate, everyone has a right to express their opinion the way they want to express them. But as a parent and a citizen, there’s a discussion. In a university setting, what’s appropriate?”

The chairman of UAA's Fine Arts Department, Steven Godfrey, thinks the painting is not an issue. He said, “I guess the people are upset about the work that’s being shown. If they were taking a class at the university and made art that was considered controversial, no matter what their political or religious [belief] is, we would do our best to protect them and protect their rights to make that kind of work in the institution, whether it would be a student or faculty.”