Kennesaw State orders removal of controversial artwork

KENNESAW, Ga. (AP) -- Artwork that includes references to a lynching is creating controversy at a north Georgia university.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (http://bit.ly/1jI8N2V ) that Kennesaw State University officials ordered the removal of the artwork from an exhibit at the university's new Zuckerman Museum of Art, which opened this weekend.

The artwork included words from a 19th-century letter by Georgia novelist Corra Harris about the lynching of a black man near Newnan.

KSU said in a statement that the museum's opening was a milestone for the school, and the rejected artwork wasn't suitable for the opening. It said the piece would be displayed later at "a more appropriate time."

The artist, Ruth Stanford, said art is intended to prompt discussion and that she's disappointed that her piece is not included in the current exhibition.

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