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Fri 15 Dec, 2006 07:04 pm
Quote:School suspends art teacher for painting with bum
A US art teacher has been suspended after bosses learned of his sideline - painting with his bum.
Stephen Murmer had posted a video on YouTube demonstrating his unusual technique.
He also had his own website -
www.buttprintart.com - featuring his work and the video, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
In the video, in which he places his buttocks in paint and then sits on a canvas, he goes under the name Stan Murmer and disguises himself with Groucho Marx-style glasses and moustache.
His paintings, typically depicting flowers and butterflies, are priced from £250 to £450.
After learning of the video, school officials at Monacan High School in Chesterfield County, Virginia, put Mr Murmer on paid leave.
But Kent Willis, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia, said Mr Murmer was "a well-respected, responsible teacher who does his job.
"Separate from that, he is an artist, he uses a pseudonym, he even disguises himself when he appears on this video," he said.
A school spokesman said teachers were expected to set an example for students. The school board is expected to consider the case next month.
School board chairman Marshall W Trammell Jr said he had seen a lot of things "but this is probably the most unique that I've ever seen."
What a talented guy!
You posted this tongue-in-cheek, right?
He wasn't doing this IN CLASS... it's a sideline. And he even disguises himself and uses a pseudonym!
I think it's stupid to fire him for this. Between this, the lesbian art teacher, and the art teacher in Texas, I'm tempted to say a theme is developing and it's a really stupid theme. Basically, that what artists -- because high school art teachers are usually actual artists, themselves, if struggling ones who need to make ends meet (redundant, I know) -- do in their own time can get them fired. It's like if a math teacher is trying to solve tricky equations in his own time, better fire him!
Obviously none of these administrators were ever art majors. (Rampant nudity, for starters, and I think nudity is the common thread with those three stories.)
Hmph.
That said, the painting itself is bleh. And the "exclamation points" (ahem) are icky.
Soz, I agree. Tempest in a teapot, so to speak.
As for the quality of the work....well Rembrant has nothing to worry about.
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