Not all of Portland is lost. Update to this story.
Via KATU:
A Portland art gallery has taken down a controversial image depicting the beheading of President Donald Trump.
One Grand Gallery on East Burnside Street had the image up in its window, but has since removed it after the gallery says it received threats of violence.
Gallery organizers said proceeds from the exhibition are going to nonprofit groups that have lost funding under the Trump administration.
The artist who created the piece says the intention was to provoke thought.
“It should provoke your mind — even if it makes you uncomfortable — it should be thought-provoking,” artist Compton Creep said.
The image of the president with a knife to his throat, bleeding, with the words “(expletive) Trump” became the centerpiece for an exhibition.
“It’s just art, man. If you don’t like it, don’t look at it. If you dig it, cool,” Creep said.
The gallery put the image on its front window, facing the busy intersection of Northeast 10th Avenue and East Burnside Street. Since then, it has sparked a firestorm.
“It’s silly,” Creep said of the response to his piece. “Just like, you should be paying more attention to everything else in your existence — not someone’s art.”
The owner of the building tells KATU News that as soon as he found out about the image, he told the gallery it had 12 hours to remove the image, or it was in breach of its lease.