What is Ok, What is Not

Activity within the past 30 days

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Richard Childs

Richard Childs of the United States Street Artists Union is more than a regular visitor to St. Augustine. " I spend about a quarter of the year here and the rest of my time in New York" says Richard. He has told us that the U.S.S.A.U is considering affiliation with the I.W.W. to strengthen it's collective position from a niche industry ( independent artists) "We take great interest in the issues here in St. Augustine."

Oh Sherri

As a result of restrictive city ordinances St. Augustine has lost a number of talented artists in the past year. Sherri Adriano was one of our Art In The Market artists who was forced to take her talents elsewhere or risk arrest.


Our loss is the village of Cortez Florida's gain. Here is a Sarasota Herald- Tribune story from last Thursday.

YOU MAY BE NEXT

Fellow Citizens,

If you've never been arrested, it goes like this. (provided that you do not resist and we definitely do not recommend doing that)

It's Saturday Afternoon - You are handcuffed with your hands behind your back . You wonder what is going to happen to your art and your dog.

You are put into the back seat of a police car and delivered to the County Jail where the cuffs are removed .

You empty your pockets and give over your wallet.

You wait on a metal bench with no back in booking. Do not try to lie down or lean on your elbow even if your back is killing you. You will get a sharp command to "SIT UP!"

A nurse who is busy carrying on a joking conversation about another corrections officer's hangover will ask some cursory questions without ever looking at you. Blood pressure is taken. You mention your aching back and are completely ignored . The hungover officer is sucking oxygen from a clear mask. You think of of Dennis Hopper in the film "Blue Velvet".

You cool your heels on the bench another forty five minutes listening to the banter amongst the officers who are behind a reinforced plate glass window with paper trays slots for documents to be passed and signed. You are invisible. They discuss last weekend's BBQ, the "asshole" over in Putnam County and other idle chatter while they move papers around, stamping and stapling."I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU AGAIN DUDE, SIT UP !" Your sciatica is shooting electric pains down the back of your left leg. You feel some resentment being called "Dude" by someone half your age. You are thinking about your 13 year old dog and wonder how he is faring in custody somewhere.

A guard takes you down the hall where you are fingerprinted and photographed with the traditional front and left side poses. A plastic bracelet is crimped onto your left wrist. On it is your Id with the tiny front view photograph and a bar code.

Next you are put into a sticky "holding cell" that smells of vomit. Another short metal bench. Try to lie down and you are again barked at from the window slot ( NO LYING DOWN !). You ignore the warning since your sciatica is acting up and you are weary.

After an hour has passed you are sent to a stall where you take a brief shower (you are being observed) You change into an issued orange jumpsuit, poly cotton boxer shorts and rubber sandals. Your clothes are put into a brown paper bag.

You are also given a stained plastic covered 2 inch thick mattress , a set of sheets, a toothbrush, a tiny toothpaste tube and a comb. Awkwardly carrying the mattress and items you are taken to a lock down cell on the second floor loggia,semi circled around what looks like a common area for prisoners. A few prisoners are occupying the other cells A few yell out requests to the guard ,"Can I make a phone call?", When is food coming?"etc. The door closes.Your cellmate is a guy named Dave who was charged with stealing a bottle of rum from the liquor store. You immediately sense that it has been sometime since his last shower. Sounds are distorted with reverberating echos bouncing around the cinder block walls.The intercom in each cell makes some sort of human voice sound once in awhile but the exact words are indecipherable.

You will not go anywhere until the next morning since you were arrested on Saturday and the judge will not come in until Sunday. The judge will set your bond and a court date. If you are accustomed to reading before you sleep at night forget it. After reading some of the graffiti scraped on the walls (Sheriff Shoar Sucks! Jesus Loves You) There is not a lot of diversion other than your mind to occupy yourself. A food tray is delivered but you do not eat it keeping in mind that the food contract went to the lowest bidder. You will eat when you get out. You try to sleep worrying about your 13 year old dog.

Sunday Morning. Eighteen hours after your arrest, a garbled scratchy sound comes from the intercom speaker and the gate clicks open. You and five other prisoners are chained at the ankle and handcuffed .You are all strung together with a "belly chain" and you can't help but think of the old Woody Allen monologue where they escape prison as a giant "charm bracelet" (Did we really laugh at that?) Dave is chained next to me and the guy on the other side of Dave is causing trouble cause of the smell. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!", says the guard. He does.The others seem more adept at making our way down the hall. You can't seem to get the group rhythm down and your missteps affect everybody chained to you. You don't care.

After standing around for a half hour ("NO LEANING AGAINST THE WALL!") you and your chain gang buddies are shuffled into a room with a desk in front and five rows of benches (again no backs!) facing the front. The group is told that the judge will be arriving soon and we are not to discuss our case or speak without being addressed by the judge. It you do so you may be removed from the room. The judge enters looking annoyed (It IS Sunday) papers are shuffled three or four others are up front. Two are not in uniform (Public defenders? Prosecutors?) Two sleepy looking tangle haired women prisoners are brought in and placed on the benches in front of us. Looking around at the prisoners you notice something in common. Lots of facial hair and tattoos. You wonder why criminals would want to mark themselves to be so identifiable. One guy seems still a little inebriated and starts spouting off about the unfairness of his situation. He is unchained from the rest of us and taken away.

Cases are called. DUI and domestic violence dominates the charges , after all this is Sunday morning after a full moon Saturday. Writer Raymond Chandler wrote , " ....On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husband's necks. Anything can happen...." A few are in for drug possession and you wonder why they don't leave their drugs at home since most have had these charges before.

Your case comes up. The judge is perplexed "This is a city ordinance violation?" A ridiculously small bond is set at 100 dollars. Great! You are confident that your friends will bail you out. You are anxious to get out to find where they have taken your 13 year old dog . He must be in distress!

Eventually you do not get out for another 12 hours. Your stomach is churning not having eaten for a day, Declining the food trays slid under your gate you start imagining what you will eat when you get out. The twenty dollar bill in your wallet can get you a nice meal.......mmm, a burger....no.... a steak!

Finally, you are told to drag your mattress to the front of the common area and are given your clothes. You get dressed and are relieved that you will be going home. "Go down the hall to the last room. "Do not stray from the yellow line!", says the jailer. You enter the room where you are told that they want to swab the inside of your mouth for a DNA sample. "No", you say, "I'm not gonna do that". "OK, THEN YOU'RE  GOIN' BACK IN THE CELL AND YOU CAN ROT THERE!," the jailer bellows. Once again you undress and put your clothes in a brown paper bag with your name written on it with a sharpie pen. This time you get no "gift bag" of toothpaste, comb etc. I find out later that DNA samples are taken of all inmates who have prior felonies, of which I have none.

You are finally released at 8:30 pm , Sunday Night. Friends posted bond. They waited hours earlier for your release but finally went home.Their inquiries as to when the release would be is, met with the response ,"I don't know". You have been incarcerated for almost 31 hours.You say, "Hey. I had twenty dollars in my wallet!" The large heavy breathing , obese , angry jailer says, "We took that for administrative expenses." Looking at his name tag you see that his last name is "Pious". You feel robbed.

With no money, not wanting to disturb anyone on a Sunday night, you walk the two miles back to your car and on the windshield you discover a red tag from the police stating that your car will be towed if not removed in 48 hours. It's 10 PM Sunday night and another artist is set up in the Plaza. He loans you some money to get something to eat. Tomorrow you will find out where they took your old dog.

On Monday morning you get your dog back after paying 75 dollars to Animal Control who housed him. You promise him that this will never happen to him again. The animal control people said that he was not happy there and would not eat.You get a "free" leash outta the deal.

Six months later your "unauthorized art" is returned in the courtroom and you are found innocent of the charges. You wonder if you will ever see that twenty dollars that was taken from your wallet.

In addition to this incarceration the artist Suvo has been arrested and jailed on the same charges three more times. Eleven other citations had been issued as well.  UPDATE...In May 2009, Federal Judge Marcia Morales Howard ruled against the City of St. Augustine and in favor of the artists in Bates et al VS The City of St. Augustine. All charges were vacated and costs were billed to the City of St. Augustine. Over 100, 00 dollars has been spent by the city in outside legal fees on indefensible unconstitutional ordinances.It is now September of 2010 and the city continues to harass artists by threatening fines and arrest.

The Art of Sarah Platt

Some months ago a talented young artist from Lake Mary set up her paintings and prints in the plaza on a Sunday morning across the street from the Cathedral. No other artists were there to assist her and help her set up. We would've suggested (though hypocrites we may be) that a large 4'x3' canvas be partially covered as some may take offense. This was the Bishop's day to say high Mass and she was only about sixty feet from the front doors of the Basillica. Alas, no one else was there to give her that advice.

She was ticketed 100 dollars for "offering for sale" her prints and paintings. Later we told her that she might have gotten away with a warning but for the two celestials coupling in her big painting.

We were criticized for covering up the painting as we did above here. So as not to appear censorial we have linked it here without any cover up. Use the back button to return here.

Sarah' s oil painting of two angels.

Le Moyne

What He Saw at the Clash of Civilizations

Reviewed By STUART FERGUSON for The Wall Street Jounal

July 18, 2008; Page W8

Painter in a Savage Land By Miles Harvey (Random House, 338 pages, $27)
Jacques le Moyne de Morgues may be the most influential artist you've never heard of. His elegant depictions of 16th-century Florida's flora and fauna -- including its native inhabitants and questing imperial visitors -- have made their way into millions of primary-school textbooks and have served, for historians, as the documentary record of a time (so hard to imagine now) before cellphone cameras.CONTINUED

Kate Merrick - Studio Azul

Kate Merrick of Studio Azul demonstrating her portraiture skills in the Plaza. Kate is recently back from an extended stay at her other home in the Dominican Republic. Visit Kate's website.

Offensive Speech

Romance In The Plaza Gazebo*

An excerpt from a book by Mark Steyn called “America Alone” (Regnery, 2006). The title was fitting: The United States, in its treatment of hate speech, as in so many other areas of the law, takes a distinctive legal path.

“In much of the developed world, one uses racial epithets at one’s legal peril, one displays Nazi regalia and the other trappings of ethnic hatred at significant legal risk, and one urges discrimination against religious minorities under threat of fine or imprisonment,” Frederick Schauer, a professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, wrote in a recent essay called “The Exceptional First Amendment.”

“But in the United States,” Professor Schauer continued, “all such speech remains constitutionally protected.”

*explanation

Potential

THIEME, Anthony (1888-1954)"Arcade in St. Augustine"Oil on Canvas24 x 29 inches

From :Lost Colony: The Artists of St. Augustine, 1930-1950 by Robert Wilson Torchia

"The Art Association gradually became a provincial organization run by local art enthusiasts.
Other circumstances also prevented the Art Association from fulfilling its potential. Motivated largely by self-interest, St. Augustine's business community generously supported the group, but during the Bonfield years the association's pragmatic values and aesthetic conservatism began to stifle creativity. With few exceptions, the city's art community was unwilling to embrace the abstract expressionism that was de rigueur in more sophisticated northern art colonies, such as Provincetown, where the presence of Hans Hoffman (1880-1966) attracted some of the most famous and progressive American artists of the era. The Art Association's officers were out of step with their time and invariably sought to attract traditionalists, such as Kronberg, Thieme, Wiggins, and Woodward, to serve as magnets for other artists. Many of the paintings produced by the group's artists -- for example, Fritz -- were unabashedly souvenirs for the tourist market, and there was a limit to how long such subjects as historic houses, shrimp boats, and the semitropical landscape could maintain the consumer's interest."

Permission To Speak ?

"We make our own rules down here"...former St. Augustine city prosecutor

Election time is coming up here for our city commissioners. We've heard that a couple of the candidates have expressed a desire that the city be more "artist friendly". Time and again we hear of those that feel the artists, musicians, bead stringers, craftspersons etc. could have a juried system set up and a market could be established in a designated public place and perhaps have a lottery for those spaces. Artist friendly...right? No.

We have tried to be clear about our endeavors to stand up for artist's rights as recognized by the Federal courts. Public space has been the traditional forum for freedom of expression in America. Do we believe in "rules"? Of course we do. Reasonable time, place and manner regulations are necessary to maintain an orderly aesthetic. The key word is "Reasonable". Art is speech. Artist's rights are also your rights.

Here we have an interview with Robert Lederman, an advocate for street artists, freedom of speech and open public spaces. Robert sued the city of New York to strike down permit requirements for artists in public spaces. His case went to the Supreme Court and is cited in many free speech cases. Robert explains our stance very succinctly.

Very Soon this issue will be in the National spotlight. Our city will be known as America's Oldest Police State. Watch what is going to happen. Passivity is over. Most of us are members of A.R.T.I.S.T. Artists in N.Y.C., Reno, Nev, Boston, Chicago , Venice Beach, CA are our brothers and sisters in this battle and we communicate. Perhaps you city officials here in St. Augustine should be contacting you counterparts in those cities. Ask em in Reno, Nevada and other cities how their attempts at stifling free speech worked for them. Link.

You have the police and their handcuffs. You have the jails. You have your hired "constitutional expert". Your offers of unacceptable alternative spaces and your wholesale purchases from selected artists in our grooup are seen for what they are...transparent shams.

You continue violate the law and we will do our utmost exposing these gross violations to the public. We may well end up being just one old Rottweiler and a grizzled white haired eccentric but keep sending the cops and we''ll provide the prisoner.(but he'd rather not go)

In preparation of a Federal lawsuit our attorneys have asked (under the Sunshine Law) for materials pertinent to the passage of the November 07 ordinance which bans us from the historic districts. Hopefully this is done in a timely fashion so that we can get on with our day in Federal court. We do not have confidence that we get justice in the St. Johns County court system.

Dean Quigley

That's Art In The Market artist Dean Quigley as naturalist/artist William Bartram. Dean is considered an expert on Bartram's 18 century Southern travels. He has worked closely with The University of Florida illustrating a number of books from the University's press. Dean is in Pensacola by invitation this week discussing artist's involvement in Pensacola's 450th anniversary. At a later date we will let you know what agency he was talking with and the extent of artists' involvement in their anniversary.

St. Augustine's own organization, the 450 group is headed by a commissioner who has shown himself to be an enemy of free expression and the U.S. Constitution. We do not expect the City to want the involvement of Art In The Market artists. Pensacola seems to have a different mindset

Charles Dickinson - Bar Harbor Show

Word comes to us that Art In The Market artist Charles Dickinson had a successful opening last night at the Salty Dog Gallery in Southwest Harbor Maine. Folks sampled wine and cheese (lobster rolls?) while viewing the plein air paintings Charles completed outdoors in the area. He also met a few collectors who had acquired their first works here in St. Augustine at Plaza de la Constitucion.*

*Eighteen months ago, as he was painting at St.George St and Hypolita, Charles was told by the local St. Augustine police to either pack up or face arrest.

Police State

Orson Welles

We have received an email from Hollywood screenwriter Joseph C. Cavella giving us insight into his film Freedom River.

To: PlazaNews@mail.com

From: Joseph C. Cavella

"Freedom River is getting way more attention now than it did when I wrote the screenplay. Here’s how the film came to life. Over several of years, Bosustow Films, a small studio I occasionally wrote films for, had asked Orson Welles, then living in Paris, to narrate one of their films. He never responded. When I finished the Freedom River script, we sent it to him together with a portable reel to reel tape recorder and a sizable check and crossed our fingers.He either was desperate for money or (I would rather believe) something in it touched him because two weeks later we got the reel back with the narration word for word and we were on our way."

Joseph C. Cavella

http://www.howtowritecomedy.com/

Welles, as an independent director/producer, was continually on the margins of the industry. Insiders say that in 1968 he ran afoul of the Nixon White House for narrating a political satire critical of the president.The I.R.S.(reputedly under White House orders) seized his production funds causing severe financial difficulties. He was an exacting filmmaker and the financial difficulties remained throughout his lifetime. Voice overs and cameo roles in other directors film

s maintained him. ( do you remember the Dean Martin Roasts or the Gallo Wine commercials?)

For years J. Edgar Hoover's F.B.I. extensively shadowed and monitored Welles after William Randolph Hearst exerted his influence to suppress Welles' films feeling that Citizen Kane was a smear against him.

It is understandable then, that he is quoted as saying that he had more freedom both personally and artistically when he lived and worked in Europe. These remarks led our government to label him a communist and "anti American". Such was the mindset of a good number of Americans in those days.

Let us say that we consider Welles to be distinctly and honorably American. Throughout his career he fought for personal and artistic freedom sometimes exacting a heavy toll.

We'll Keep Coming Back !

We will fight to have our rights restored ! Visit us in the Plaza de la Constitucion

Give Us More Regulations

The Artists In The Market have a recurring discussion amongst us regarding the physical appearance of the tourists passing by. We do not mean to be superficial and some of us certainly may fall into a borderline obese condition. There is a noticeable trend occurring. This year we are seeing less shopping bags and more ice cream cones in the hands of visitors.

An estimated two of every three American adults, and more than one in six children and adolescents are considered overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A survey by the National Center for Health Statistics states that the average man measured 39 inches while the average woman measured 36.5 inches at the waist.

From where we sit we can see ample evidence of this. Remember your teen years? We recall the years when we could and would eat anything in mass quantities. We were like sharks in search of protein. What we did do was burn it off, not on a treadmill but youthful exuberance seemed to keep us lean and hormonal. How is it that we now see teens whose physique resembles a sedentary fifty year old? Sure we rarely see serious acne anymore but we see now see lots of fat kids. Too many Lunchables? Another reason? Pepsico, drug companies, Kellogg’s, General Mills, Mars candy, Coca Cola, Sara Lee are all giving considerable revenue to school districts in return for exclusive placement in the cafeterias. A corporate-dietitian-school triad has been established and the children pay via obesity, diabetes, tooth decay and attention deficit.

Perhaps the regulation minded will come up with "fatty credits". Four trips to the salad bar get you points for a double dip ice cream cone. Imagine the system similar to the environmental "carbon offset" programs. If you choose to go to Outback Steakhouse but have no "fatty credits" available, you can call a commodities exchange, using your credit card to purchase "fatty offsets" from those who have excess offset points(the "skinnies"). If your credit card is maxed and you are short of cash you will have settle for celery stalks and V8 juice. Yes sir! I'll bet that the think tanks are already working on this and the profiteers are dreaming of untold profits in trading in a necessary product......food availability.

Meanwhile, we have here in the nation's oldest city group of bureaucrats who feel that they can control and regulate the basic rights and freedoms our nation was founded upon.

We Won't Back Down

This is dedicated to the artists who continue to exercise their right to display and sell their works on public property risking fines and arrest in St. Augustine, Florida . the nations oldest city.

Thomas Paine - Forgotten Patriot

Thomas Paine 1737 - 1809

The existence of Thomas Paine was as important to our Freedoms as Adams . Jefferson and Washington.

Paine quotes

"A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right."

"A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice."

"But such is the irresistable nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants is the liberty of appearing."

"My country is the world, and my religion is to do good."

"The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection. "

Peg McIntire 1911 - 2008

photo by Peter Willott

Our Friend Peg

Activist for Peace & Justice

St. Augustine Record Story

John Lynch 1945 - 2008

When tourists or residents complained about the "bums" in the Plaza it was many times in reference to John Lynch. Whatever sent Mr. Lynch on the road to broken down alcoholism, we'll never know. He was usually in an extremely foul mood. Life had battered him apparently and he escaped into the bottle. He had over 32 citations and a number of incarcerations from" open container" violations to aggravated battery(drunken disputes).

If anyone took the time to talk with John they would find that it wasn't easy to make friends with him, but eventually you could get him to smile at a joke or express thanks for the donut or whatever. He had eyes that were a striking blue when not bloodshot. If he had been dry for awhile (jail time) his appearance changed to a tall ,distinguished ,white haired 63 year old gent who could be mistaken for the head of the Rotary. This change was brief, until he got a hold on another bottle

Mr. Lynch had a rough year . His favorite bench was made off limits when he got out of the slammer the last time. He was incontinent and his legs stopped working , so he had been assigned a wheelchair on his last hospital/jail incarceration. The local cops were amazed at his durability. The last time that I saw him, his wheelchair was parked next to the Cathedral on St. George. I bought him a pizza slice and asked him if he was ok. "Goddamn legs won't work anymore!" he barked. I said, "You sound like your old self, you grumpy bastard". He grinned and went about eating the pizza. "Can you get me a goddamn beer? I considered it for a moment but then told him, "I can't John".

I found out that Mr. Lynch's body finally gave out and he died recently. I thought about the speech to the troops from the film "Gladiator".

"If you find yourself alone, riding in green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled for you are in Elysium and you are already dead."

.......Enjoy the green fields and the sun on your face, John.