PHOTO Bill Cosby rapeseed portrait removed from Minnesota State Fair

Bill_Cosby_pajamas_490

A portrait of Bill Cosby done up in canola seed–also known by the archaic but nonetheless accurate name of “rapeseed”–has been quietly removed from an art exhibit at the Minnesota State Fair.

Artist Nick Rindo managed to get his Bill Cosby rapeseed portrait into the State Fair in the first place, which is an impressive enough feat. It lasted a full day, according to TwinCities.com, before being pulled due to complaints.

According to State Fair reps, Rindo’s medium of choice is a bit of a misnomer. The artist used canola seeds, which is the modern-day name of what used to be called rapeseed. And indeed, when officials first put up the Bill Cosby rapeseed portrait, the only adjustment they made was to cover the word “rapeseed” with a piece of tape.

Complaints quickly accumulated–though it wasn’t immediately clear whether folks were complaining about the use of rapeseed for the Bill Cosby rapeseed portrait, or whether they objected to any portrayal of Cosby.

At least one fairgoer was on record as saying he did think that the display meant the Minnesota State Fair itself was “pro-rape.”

According to Rindo, a 37-year-old software designer by day, the whole object of the project was to find out what would happen: “The point was just to see, would there be outrage? Would there be people talking about it? Would it even get through?”

Rindo’s Bill Cosby rapeseed portrait quickly went viral:

 

Though he has not been convicted of any crimes relating to sexual misconduct, Bill Cosby has, to date, been accused of varying degrees of sexual misconduct, up to and including rape, by 52 women.  

 

(Photo credits: Bill Cosby rapeseed portrait via Twitter)

website statistics