Tennessee student says sorry for rainbow noose ‘art’ project
The Tennessee university student whose art project, six rainbow-coloured nooses hanging from a tree, was swiftly removed by police said on Tuesday that she did not intend to be racially insensitive or offend the gay community.
The project was up for less than an hour on Monday before complaints prompted officials at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee to take it down.
“My intention with my sculpture project was to address the cycle of death and rebirth that is represented by the arrival of spring,” the student, whose identity was not disclosed, was quoted as saying in a statement released by the university.
“I had no social or political statements in mind. I did not take into consideration that nooses are a racially charged symbol, for that I am sorry.”
A university spokesman would only identify the student as a female.
My intention with my sculpture project was to address the cycle of death and rebirth that is represented by the arrival of spring
A professor in the art department approved the initial concept for the artwork and expressed concerns about how the project might be interpreted. The student mounted the project without final approval, the spokesman said.