An art school in France was caught altering an image of students – manipulating some of their faces to make the group appear more diverse ahead of a branch opening in Los Angeles.
A side-by-side comparison of the two images circulating on social media clearly shows the “blackwashing” of students from the Emile Cohl art school in Lyon. The facial features of at least four students were darkened and the faces of two black students were added into the throng of youngsters.
Kelsi Phung, who studied at the school in 2011-12, told CNN the photo was originally shared by a French animation studio to a current student before it was posted to a Facebook group.
“Desiring to preserve the student’s anonymity, I am responsible for broadcasting the photomontage,” Phung told CNN.
Emmanuel Perrier, the school’s assistant director, said an outside firm hired to increase the school’s profile in the United States – ahead of a branch opening in Los Angeles within four years – was to blame.
“The communication company decided on its own to darken the skin of some students to add diversity,” Perrier told CNN. “The communication campaign was made from the US.”
The art aficionados in the image are fifth-year students “doing a six-month internship at the moment,” Perrier said.
School officials immediately removed the image from its servers and website when students notified them two days after it went live on Sept. 5, Perrier said.
“When the website was made public, we didn’t notice anything, the students from our school were the first ones to notice it,” he continued.
Perrier declined to identify the firm responsible for the altered images and darkened facial features, but confirmed that the business relationship has been terminated.
“The contract is over,” Perrier said. “American law is complex, but we don’t want it to stop there. We would like to file a complaint.”
School officials said in a statement on its website translated from French that “it goes without saying” that they disapprove of the manipulation.
“To the Cohliens, their families, alumni, partners who know the school and its practices, we reaffirm that we do not need to manipulate images to demonstrate our openness to the world as it is,” the statement reads.
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