University considers video kiosk for Benton mural

Located in Woodburn Hall, Thomas Hart Benton's mural, "Parks, the Circus, the Klan, the Press," has been a source of controversy at IU ever since former University President Herman B Wells brought the murals to Bloomington in 1939. Depicting a Ku Klux Klan rally beside a towering church, the mural that now resides in A lecture hall has been raising questions of ethics and morality since it was painted in 1933.\nTo better educate students on the history of the panel, the University is considering a video kiosk that may be stationed outside of the lecture hall. This kiosk would provide a presentation on the panel and factual information about its history and social importance regarding IU and the state of Indiana. \nIn the past, IU Director of Diversity Education Eric Love has given a presentation about the mural to student who have a class in Woodburn Hall, room 100. Love has been giving presentations about the murals for two years. Each year, he said about five or six professors ask him to talk to their students about the murals. \n"The kiosk would be an all video presentation really, stationed outside of the lecture hall," Love said. "It would make my presentation available to anyone who wants to see it on demand."\nAside from talking specifically about the Indiana Murals, Love believes that his presentation gives him a chance to talk to IU students about much more abstract issues.\n"Most of all, it gives me a chance to talk about the history of Indiana," Love said. "It gives me a chance to talk about race and diversity in general to a few thousand students. It also let's me give information about cultural centers and student organizations to students who wouldn't hear about them otherwise."\nThe last major controversy surrounding the murals came in the spring of 2002 when the Black Student Union led a movement to have the panels removed from Woodburn Hall, stating that they were inappropriate and out of context in the classroom, according to the Office of Academic Affairs Web site. The Black Student Union members felt that students who were offended by the panels were obligated to be in the room for class and that this eliminated their choice to view the murals. \nThe controversy surrounding Benton's Indiana Murals, however, is not a new one. According to Kathleen Foster's "Thomas Hart Benton and the Indiana Murals", the Indiana Commission chose Benton to paint the murals as a centerpiece for the state's representation at the 1933 Chicago's Century of Progress World's Fair. \nBenton received criticism before the project even began. He was criticized by those who thought his regionalist style to be brash and cluttered and those who argued that Missouri-born Benton would not be able to paint an accurate portrait of the "Hoosier State," according to Foster's book. \nWhile many still argue whether the murals condone racism or create a negative atmosphere, the University hopes to inform students more about the roots of the painting. \nLove said during his presentation, he often asks for a show of hands indicating what students think should happen to the panels. After the complete presentation is given, Love said he usually notices that most students think the mural should stay at its current location.