Artwork depicting dancing pigs in police uniforms to remain on display in California

A California art center is standing behind its decision to display a work of art that was deemed anti-police by some viewers.

The piece, “Three Slick Pigs,” is on display at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido as a part of a larger exhibit on street art in the region. The artist, OG Slick, told KUSI the piece is intended to draw attention to some police officers’ excessive use of force and abuse of power.

The work features a sculpture of three pigs in police uniforms, dancing and cross-eyed, as they stand in front of an image of officers in riot gear. The image behind them appears to be spray-painted with the letters APAB, which is an acronym deriding police officers.

On opening night, an extra element was added to the piece: a pile of doughnuts with pink icing and sprinkles at the pigs’ feet, “to further push the narrative and feed the guests,” according to the artist.

According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, the piece has been criticized or denounced by Escondido Mayor Paul McNamara, City Manager Sean McGlynn, Chief of Police Ed Varso, and various members of the city council.

The city council owns and subsidizes the center that put on the exhibit, Voice of San Diego reported. The mayor used that to argue the council had a responsibility to “at least talk about this management relationship” due to “this recent incident and, in my opinion, the tone deafness of it,” McNamara said at a special council meeting, according to the outlet.

In response, the center argued that it operates as an “independent, not-for-profit foundation,” and that the City of Escondido “does not review, approve, or in any way inform the artistic choices that CCAE makes.”

The institution’s employees are also “employed by the foundation, not the City,” the center said.

The artist released a statement about the work on June 28, saying on Instagram that “Three Slick Pigs” is based on some of his previous work and that it’s supposed to offer a “satirical look at excessive police force and abuse of power by some individuals who hide behind the badge of the largest ‘gang’ in the U.S.”

“To give you a little history, I grew up doing graffiti and my father was in law enforcement so you can imagine the tension at the dinner table,” OG Slick wrote. “My installation was meant to open dialogue within our communities. Isn’t that what art is meant to do?”

In spite of the backlash and pressure from city officials, the museum decide to keep the artwork in place for the rest of the exhibit’s runtime through Aug. 28.

In a statement, the center’s Board of Trustees affirmed its commitment to the “Street Legacy: SoCal Style Masters” exhibit, including Slick’s work, and said it will continue to display the work “without removing, covering or otherwise editing it.”

“The exhibition features aspects of graffiti, street art, skateboarding, surfing, tattoos, hip hop, breaking, punk, lowriders and custom culture,” the statement said. “As a community-serving organization, CCAE has the opportunity to embrace and reflect diverse community viewpoints and bring people together to discover, create and celebrate the visual and performing arts.”

Escondido is about 30 miles north of San Diego.

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