Friday, March 02, 2007

Knife In President Display Earns Artist Visit From Secret Service

An Alameda artist got a surprise visit from the U.S. Secret Service last week for displaying artwork some people thought was threatening to the president.

Artist Michael McDonald, 55, routinely displays art in his front yard. One of his latest pieces is a cardboard representation of President George W. Bush being impaled by a knife.

McDonald said the piece intended to spark discussion about controversial topics.

Dubya

"The knife is used as a hook, basically to bring you into the piece," McDonald said.

McDonald said the Secret Service grilled him for 90 minutes about his art and his beliefs. They also asked him to allow access to his medical records, he said.

"They said, 'You've got a knife sitting in the head of the president of the United States,'" McDonald said. "I said, 'No, I got a knife in a piece of cardboard.'"

With video and slideshow.

1 comment:

Nayese said...

This is why I don't associate myself with either faction (reffered to most as "political parties") as soon as you disagree with one side, they associate you with the other (of the same coin might I add). If you prove your point that you side with neither-you're a "flip-flop".