A controversial painting purchased by Grand Valley State University is back in the limelight after being reinstalled in the Office of the Provost before being moved to storage.
The piece, “Pétalos de Cambio” by alumna Irlanda Beltran, had already been taken down from its position last semester inside the Russel H. Kirkhof Center, following protest by students who voiced they were offended by the piece. The painting in question features a depiction of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a Catholic apparition of the Virgin Mary, which some have considered blasphemous, and discussion of gender-based violence, gun control and homophobia.
Since the painting was removed last semester, it was hung in the Office of the Provost, which faced displeasure from some students and community members. “Pétalos de Cambio” has since been moved back to GVSU Art Museum storage. Numerous faculty members and administrators were contacted by the Lanthorn, including Provost Jennifer Drake and the Art Museum. All inquiries were deferred to University Communications, including a photographer who requested to see the painting.
“With over 28,000 items in the Art Museum’s collection, and after a year on display on the Allendale Campus, the piece, along with others within the Provost’s office, was rotated out of that location to make space for new pieces aligned with the Provost’s vision for art in her office,” said Assistant Vice President of University Communications Chris Knape. “Art created by faculty, staff, students and alumni or Michigan artists.”
Knape further iterated the piece is now in storage at the Art Museum, but the University is actively considering what steps to take next.
“We are actively seeking a new and appropriate location for the piece, including the possible loan to an art/cultural institution where the piece can be respectfully cared for, and viewing community can be broadened,” Knape said.
Noah Mullins, a Catholic student studying marketing, said this latest removal effort still isn’t enough to appease displeased students.
“We want it removed from the University collection entirely,” Mullins said. “We don’t want it to be displayed or owned by the University.”
To Mullins, the display of Beltran’s painting in the first place has been a regrettable move on the University’s part.
“It was wrong for them to display it because it is a very clear visual of violence against a person, and that person has to represent billions of people across the Christian faith,” Mullins said. “It was inappropriate because it shows the highest levels of this administration were condoning this art installation.”
With the University owning the painting and having already spent $1,800 on the purchase, Mullins believes there is a distinct conflict at play, in which the University is spending taxpayer dollars to possibly offend members of the campus community. He also questioned why administrators chose to hang a painting in the first place that has offended him and other Christian students, who make up a portion of the University’s population.
“We pay taxes towards purchases like these,” Mullins said. “If our finances were used for it, we get a say. This is where we live, go to school, eat (and) where our lives are for the entire year.”
Nikolas Tompkins, an education major, feels University leadership has handled the situation poorly. However, his grievance lies in the fact administrators have not kept the painting up. Tompkins questioned why there’s concern over what a faculty member hangs in their office.
“I think the University handled it extremely poorly,” Tompkins said. “The artwork stood as a protest to oppressive and hateful rhetoric that has been directed toward Latin Americans, women and those in the LGBTQ+ community, rhetoric that has been on the rise among right-wing Christians in the United States since the first Trump administration.”
While in storage, the painting can still be viewed digitally through the Art Museum’s online collection.
