Free Speech Loses

Background

The Constitutionally faulty ordinance passed by the St. Augustine City Commission last October was an end run around Federal Judge Marcia Morales Howard's injunction against enforcement towards painters, photographers and sculptors.It illegally prohibits artists from creating, displaying or selling their works on public property (a Constitutionally protected right.) This means little to The City of St. Augustine.Artists have been jailed six times over restictive ordinances in the past three years and dozens of citations have been issued. Not one of these were ever prosecuted and all were vacated as a result of the Federal Judges order.The City of St. Augustine had to pay the artist's attorney fees (as ell as their outside attorney) and damages from taxpayer coffers.

Why do they do this?

One of the answers is this: The city is micromanaging and maintaining control of what they consider their property. As a city official told me regarding the Plaza de la Constitucion, "This is not public property, this is City property". We can write of "shadow governments" and conspiracies and come of as paranoid fringe people but the reality is that there are landlords who chafe at the fact that non rent paying visual artists were showing and selling their wares under the live oaks of the nation's oldest park.These third and fourth generation property owners are so influential that local elected county and circuit judges will ignore Federal case law and prosecute any artist who stands up for their rights. The artists filed in Federal court to override any non constitutional decisions. We were successful. The City administration was not happy and passed an even more draconian, restrictive and illegal ordinance against the visual artists.

At this time

After a challenge from the artists three years ago the city's legal department conceded that a permit fee for visual artists will not stand constitutional scrutiny. The city refunded thousands of dollars to artists who had paid 75 dollars a month in previous years.They also reaffirmed in writing that the Plaza was a public space that visual artists may use to display and sell their works. Time , place and manner rules were made and things went well with no complaints for almost a year. This did not satisfy those important landlords who disposed of  former city attorney who decided, after research, that the artists were correct in their claims . Many fine artists who depended upon the sale of their works as income have left St. Augustine for cities with less restrictive policies and were "artist friendly", recognising that the inclusion of artists is a benefit to their tourist driven economy (the artists here in St. Augustine all had sales tax ID.numbers and filed,usually quarterly)

Artists now must sign up for a lottery for  a space in the Slave Market in the Plaza.At it's worst, there would be three places in the Slave Market for visual artists. The other spaces are designated for crafters and, ridiculously enough, musicians. In the first month a One Man Band was assigned a space ten feet away from the African Drummer amidst the artists and crafters. This lasted one day. Imagine the noise and headaches! No musician has ever returned. The City also used this ordinance to rid the Slave Market of the homeless guys who used it to get the little shade available on public property.. Oh yeah, the city has conveniently ignored their previous policy and now an artist must pay 75 dollars to go into this lottery and submit themselves to be photographed  at City Hall.. A licence is to be worn on the artist's person and it is clearly spelled out identifying the painter as a "street performer". You cannot buy a license as a visual artist. You see, street performers (with the sound and crowd factor) have less constitutional rights as visual artists so the city's solution was to label the artists something other than what they are..

The slave market is located at the eastern end of the Plaza taking up approximately 1/10 of the Plaza. These days most foot traffic is at the opposite end of the Plaza.The remaining artists (two or three) are artists that formerly consistently sold well as most artworks that tourists want are scenes of St. Augustine. General landscapes or "non St.Augustine" artworks come in a distant second to these artworks. The artists there attribute a slow economy and the lack of foot traffic to a reduction of 60 to 70% of their former business.

A Personal Note

Mine is the story of a man who had been in the art and graphics business, but wanted to do something more than design pamphlets and learn new computer skills at at an age when many are retiring from their field.My life took a detour when I went back to my hometown after twenty five years to take care of my ailing father.

After my father's death four years later, I decided that at the age of 55 I would start over and be the "pure artist" that I always wanted to be. Studying up on public space and energized by the street artists I had known in NYC, I filled the gas tank in my father's old beaten up 1990 Cadillac Coupe De Ville, heading South.with my art supplies and an old Rottweiler companion Karl ( I had become a Southerner over the years.) Somewhere in middle Alabama during an horrific thunderstorm I was hit with the fact that I'm not thirty something anymore , not even forty something.that this was a crazy endeavor,but I continued on to New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina diverted me to St. Augustine.Florida.

I have since been jailed four times here in St. Augustine and received twelve tickets and fines for exercising my rights as an artist. To encapsulate my story . Artist's began rallying behind me and I was able, with the help of local attorney Tom Cushman and his assistant Nadine Phelps to get our fight into Federal Court via an expensive "white shoe" law firm out of Jacksonville. There  were so many gaps and restrictions in our ability to sell or display, but I then had a financial cushion to keep up the struggle for the "little guy", the individual artists.

Now, the artists are gone ,winning the battle but you cannot win against a goup that subverts the law for their own agenda..I fought City Hall. I naively believed that the courts would ensure the individuals rights.I see the so called local Arts Groups fighting over who is to get what dollars from the taxpayer pures, I see self interests of the monied people taking precedence over the well settled rights of an individual (Artist's Rights Are Your Rights!) "It's all about the money", says former art gallery owner Mayor Joe Boles. That is an absolute truth , without money an artist cannot create, a newspaper cannot publish and a book cannot be written and distributed.

"Where are the artists?!"," They arrest artist!?". "They  can't do that!"  "You should fight them !".

"This is not right!"

 I've heard the above statements every day I that was out in the elements displaying my artwork. The citizens then go home and forget about it. It doesn't really affect them, they think. I have had a few supporters outside of the artists, who have helped financially.contributing to "the cause" but they have dwindled , many considering it a "lost cause" and that this is proof that you cannot fight City Hall.

Frankly, since my close companion, Karl the Rottweiler died in March at age 14 ( six hundred dollars in vet bills) my heart is not in this any more. I invited artists to come paint on the six easels that I set up last Saturday and no one showed up I was given a 200 dollar ticket for "offering for sale"(not guilty) The next day I set up the six easels throughout the plaza with "No Art" painted on and two people wanted to buy them ( is this a dark comedy or what?!) I gave them away. I now have a criminal record on file, it doesn't matter that the fine print shows that i was not guilty on all charges, it remains on record.

 My stubborn misplaced pride and reaction against bullies kept me here when I should have left almost five years ago.As Officer Walter Wachowski told me then when I first arrived "I'm gonna arrest you! tow your crappy car! impound your dog! and confiscate your art!." (Officer Simpson as witness) It came to pass four times...Karl my dog was with me all the way.

Invite Placido Domingo Now!

The 450th Committee and the City Commission keep wondering who to invite as VIP's to the celebration of the City of St. Augustine's 450th year of continuous European occupation. This will be in five years. The Ca Pope's name keeps coming up since the Mayor of our town has the mistaken belief that this was the birthplace of Christianity in the New World.Face it.....the German born Pope is not coming fellas.

Let's look at a man who was born in Madrid and came to Mexico (part of the New World, Mr, Mayor) as a young boy. Imagine the Flagler auditorium filled to capacity with Senor Domingo doing the "I Pagliacci" aria. The swells in town will pay good money to see this. Senor Domingo is a consummate fundraiser, instrumental in raising over 700, 000 dollars for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.and a huge benefit for the Mexican earthquake victims

Placido Domingo is currently the General Director of the Washington National Opera in Washington, D.C. and the Los Angeles Opera in California.He is now recovering from colon surgery in March but insists that he will be returning to the stage soon. He is fond of saying,"If I rest, I rust" He is 69 years old.

Spain , particularly the Catalan region where Placido's father was born, has given us a wealth of art.(Picasso, Miro, Dali) Here is one man who embodies the migration from Europe to the "New World".

We also think that City official (Chief Planner or some such title) Mark Knight should dress up as Don Quixote during the festivities.Erroll Jones can be Sancho Panza.. That's a street performance we would like to see.

Ruth Hunter

Former St. Augustine Street artist Ruth Hunter left St. Augustine some time back is now doing well painting and doing her workshops in Savannah Georgia.She knows first hand about the illegitimate laws in St. Augustine that prevent artists from exercising their rights..We love her work . Take a look yourself.

Charles Dickinson

We congratulate Charles Dickinson for winning the Emmett Fritz Award for Best Oil Painting. The award was given by the St. Augustine Art Association at the 2010 Honors show.

Charlie will be in Southwest  Harbor Maine as guest artist at the Salty Dog Gallery for a good part of July.His wife painter Debbie Boon will also be there They might run into fellow Art In The Market artists Elizabeth Harris and Richard Childs who are on a painting vacation in Bar Harbor, Maine.

We were excited to hear from Artist Scott Raimondo telling us that will be vacationing in the Isle of Capri next month..Excited that is ,until we found out that's what he has named the inflatable pool in his backyard,."The Isle of Capri".

Women We Love

"Rich fellas come up an' they die, an' their kids ain't no good an' they die out. But we keep a'comin'. We're the people that live. They can't wipe us out; they can't lick us. We'll go on forever, Pa, 'cause we're the people."  Ma Joad , The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

Word Art

On Sunday from 10am to 9 Pm the Plaza had eight of these "artworks" scattered throughout. The message is clear. For some reason this display was ignored by the authorities. Could it be the city hall boys simply do not care for my artworks,cause yesterday I received a ticket for the same thing except my artwork was on the easel. Art is a universal language. A photo or painting carries a message just as well as this graffiti. A non English reading person can "get" the painting before he can comprehend a written description of that painting. This statement is repeated in most free speech/ art/ first amendment cases.Here is part of a decision affirming visual artist's full First Amendment rights

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT In October 1996

Bery vs N.Y.C.

"Chinese characters are both narrative and pictorial representations. Nahuatl, a language used by Aztec peoples in Central America, also incorporates pictures in its written language. Visual artwork is as much an embodiment of the artist's expression as is a written text, and the two cannot always be readily distinguished."

Here is part of the "law "unanimously passed by the St. Augustine City Commission last September.

Prohibited in the Plaza de la Constitucion, St, George Street (and fifty feet on either side), Anderson Circle, Ponce de Leon Circle, Loring Park and all streets directly adjacent to the aforementioned locations................"artistry or the creation of visual art and wares, which includes drawings or paintings applied to paper, cardboard, canvas, cloth or to other similar medium when such art is applied to the medium through the use of brush, pastel, crayon, pencil, spray or other similar object."

Yesterday, I spoke to an artist who pays 1200 dollars a month to set up his easel and a print rack in an indent space in front of a retail jewelry store. "Yeah, but when an artist collects money he becomes a vendor right?"

My answer to him was twofold. 1. An artist should learn the law and what his rights are 2. I quoted a Federal case (I know it by heart) ""It is well settled that a speaker's rights are not lost merely because compensation is received; a speaker is no less a speaker because he or she is paid to speak." Riley v. Natl Fed'n of Blind of North Carolina.

For those who cannot equate speech with pictures and paintings , my word message is this, and no offense is intended: Though this is a simple statement, it is too abstract for those whose linear thinking abruptly stops and fragmented thinking takes over. This is our City Commission.

It is not illegal for artists to display and offer their work for sale on public property. It is not illegal for artists to set paint a picture on public property.

High Crimes

Officer Tyus mesmerized by Suvo's Art

Yesterday at 1:20 pm, I had just set up some easels to do some embellishments on a group of prints recently made.Officer Tyus approached with his ticket book in hand. I noticed that the ticket on the pad was already filled out. If you already have your name in file, there is no waiting, how convenient! Unfortunately. the charge on the ticket was for displaying and "offering for sale" my artwork.When I asked Officer Tyus whether he saw prices on these works and showed him my pallet and brushes he said no he didn't see prices and then told me something that confirmed my opinion that the City of St. Augustine will blatantly violate the law to violate the civil rights of it's citizens. I'll reserve quoting here until we get an affidavit from a witness and after I have transferred the digital recording to a disc.

I will say this regarding "offer for sale". Officer Tyus did not see prices on the work and he was the first person I spoke to after setting up, the citation having been written in advance begs the question, When was an offer for sale made and who made the complaint? There must be a citizen complaint or witness to the offense.

Only one artist, J. D. , a photographer, formerly of Fox News came for a little while and set up his tripod to take a few pictures.

Today, I will have six  blank canvases on display as a protest to the City of St. Augustine's adversarial attitude to the visual artists. No one would want to by a blank canvas, or would they? (google Robert Ryman)

Perhaps the sprawling "hobo picnic"* of eleven men and one woman will once again be held twenty feet away from me. When one of the guys came to me as I was talking to someone else, he interrupted and insisted on shaking my hand. When I ignored his rudeness he went to his companions and told them he was going to "slap me". Oh! Karl the Rottweiler would've loved that if he were still with us ! He really disliked skinny guys in tank tops.

* Anyone has a right to recline about a public park. It's when the Saturday night exuberance starts that the tourists get a bit distressed with the language and potential violence.

Did this Guy Murder Bill Mack?

Who the heck is this Guy?

Back in 1990 Bill Mack sculptures were all the rage with celebrity collectors. Oliver Stone's film "Wall Street from three years before used Mack's bas relief nudes to decorate the set walls of Gordon Gekko's plush office. Sometimes this is all you need to get a career to shoot upward, not museum purchases or serious critical revue. Mack's nudes are the prototypical perfect woman , lithe, leggy and nude.Playboy stuff. One work entitled "Enigma" could have the title "Girl in a Box." His works are a plasticine type of mixture sometimes with bronze powder added to give it the illusion of heavy mass. If it were bronze solid you would not have a wall to hold it much less the forklift to move it around.Bill Mack is making his yearly visit to St Augustine for a two day meet and greet at the Cutter Galleries. Either Bill Mack the sculptor will be here or someone with that name, that is.Read on. 

Previously we wrote about the troubles that dealers were having with Thomas Kinkad (Painter of Light tm) .The art world ,or rather the faux art, resort gallery industry has as much smoke and mirrors as does the so called high end fine art galleries in NYC or Paris.The Art Expo to the trade in April every year at the Javits Center offers up all of the latest child prodigies, ape paintings, more jumping whales, dead cartoonists reprints etc. Anything that is novel to get potential customers into the gallery.You'll find Bill Mack there.Interestingly you'll not find his birth date on any of his biographies.

The Bill Mack people have done something that I've never heard of. They have replaced the Bill Mack that I knew  back in 1990 with another Bill Mack. The original Bill Mack would be at least 65 years old. Does the guy in the picture above look 65? Three years ago I encountered the fake Bill Mack in front the Love's Gallery prior to a show and mentioned some mutual acquaintances and he faked it through an awkward conversation. He had the rose boutonniere, and the handle bar mustache but he was much shorter and considerably younger. Apparently, Bill Mack (who was featured on the TV show "Lifestyles of The Rich and Famous" )has decided to stay home in Minneapolis and send out this , possibly his son, to do public appearances.. Of course those gated community purchasers of his work get a photo of him next to their expensive purchase thinking that they are in the company of the artist.

Smoke and Mirrors or outright fraud? Tonight and tomorrow for his exhibit.

As New York Goes, So Goes.......

This ugly scene may soon be in NYC's Union Square

Restauranteur Danny Meyer is an important fellow...he is a personal friend of NYC's Mayor Bloomberg and is the co chair of the Business Improvement District (BID) the Union Square Economic Development Corporation , a group planning a restaurant on the public property of Union Square.The above picture is his food stand on the public property of Madison Square Park.  State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick is making noise: “In neighborhoods like Union Square which are starved for green space but already overwhelmed by dining choices, it is terrible public policy to continue to transform municipal parkland into a commercial engine.”

Our artist activist in NYC, Robert Lederman , pres. A.R.T.I.S.T (Artist's Response To Illegal State Tactics) tells us that a recent city report shows that "You get to the real deal about why the city wants street artists eliminated from it's parks. It's all about real estate values.They want more special events, concessions, Greenmarkets and revenue producing things - at the cost of free speech"

In plain language, the Bloomberg Administration is giving away park space to the highest bidder.

Painter of Dreck

Thomas Kinkade (The Painter of Light tm) is having troubles in addition to his bankruptcy and lawsuits over fraud. We have a Thomas Kinkade gallery here in St. Augustine and everyday tourists are buying cheap paper prints for five hundred dollars or prints on canvas for up to $5000 .His subtrefuge and outright lies are coming home to roost. Here is an article that discusses his art in more depth than it deserves.

We Hear Things

Actual Things Heard in the Nation's Oldest Park

The Old Philosopher

Old Guy: "You know what your problem is?"

Suvo: No, what?

Old Guy: You don't ask the right questions.

Suvo: What do you mean?

Old Guy:: That's what I mean.

Suvo: Waddya mean, that's what you mean.?

Old Guy: You don't ask the right questions.

Suvo: Regarding what? Can you give me an example?

Old Guy: It's just that you don't ask the right questions:

Suvo: Meaning in what context?

Old Guy: When it comes to questions, the right ones you do not ask

Suvo: What the goddamn hell are you talking about?

Old Guy: I think that I just proved my point.

Suvo: Here's a question. Would you get the hell away from me?

Just Do It

Grossly obese 30 something in a wifebeater shirt talking on his cell phone:

"Hey! I need you to pick up a friend of mine"

"Waddya mean you can't !. It's only a coupla miles away. He needs  to get to Robbie's house."

"Crap, you been sittin' on your ass all day watchin TV".

Gas money Hell! It's only a few miles I told ya. You can do it !. Here's the address.

He click's off the phone and yells over to his equally obese girlfriend

"It's ok, Grandma is gonna go pick him up and drop him off at Robbie's."

Ship Of Little People

Tour Train Driver: "That is a statue of Ponce de Leon. He was only 4'7".

He was the tallest man on the ship. It was Admiralty Law that no one could be taller than the captain."

If It Were a Snake

Tourist" "Could you tell me where is the Bridge of Lions"

Artist:: "Right there ....pointing to the bridge, 75  feet away"

Nosy Guy

Tourist: "Do you guys make a lot of money doin this?"

Artist::" Things have been kinda slow here lately"

Tourist: "About how much do you make on an average day?"

Artist: "Are you asking me how much money I make?"

Tourist: "Yeah, On the average".

Artist: "Why would I tell you that?"

Tourist: "Just curious"

Artist: "I think that it is strange for you to ask me that. What if I asked you how much you made".

Tourist: "I'll tell you ...Last month I took home.....".

Artist: interrupting...."Look, I don't want to know your income, that's personal."

Tourist: "I don't mind."

Artist: "Well I do mind, I gotta go over here now".....moving away to another artist's stand.

Recent Report

      Suvo under surveillance

A recent (and expensive) tourism study commissioned by St. Johns County made many suggestions regarding how to increase the "visitor experience" for St. Augustine and it's environs. Many items were covered including insistence upon historical accuracy (Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse?) development of undeserved history (African American Freedom Trail) and further utililization of the Arts and cultural resources. We'll address the last one and use some quotes from the report.Of the summarised eleven recommendations three of them are regarding Art in St. Johns County. We have left out any reference to the "cultural" since recent local news stories regarding use of governmental monies shows that many have differing views on the definition of cultural (sociological?,anthropological?,history? arts?)

From the report: 
#5  Eliminate any downtown ordinances that might hamper cultural arts development such as length of performances inability to show artists at work, spontaneous performances etc.

#6  Iincubate artists and use their presence as a neighborhood economic engine.

#7  Promote better communication among arts groups within the destination.

Conclusion in summary:      "Eliminate downtown ordinances that hamper arts........Costing nothing to execute, this will have little direct impact upon visitation, but will be a major asset to building brand equity as an arts and culture destination."

Comments:
#5 We like the word "any" in this statement. Since no one from the Magellan Group (the hired report group) had queried any artists from our group we must assume that these conclusions were drawn from the general public polls. (methodology here) Regional plein air "paint outs " have diverted from picturesque downtown St. Augustine since the passage of a recent ordinance making it illegal (100 dollar fine) to set up an easel and paint in most of the historic district. Does anybody reading this recognize a blatantly illegal ordinance? This indicates the adversarial relationship with outdoor artists that the City of St.Augustine fosters. This needs to stop.

#6 Reading this point we have a knee jerk reaction to the word "incubate" fearing that it might be misread as "isolate". we have already been isolated to six spaces in the slave Market, photographed and charged 75 dollars to wear a badge that identifies us as a "street performer".not artist.

#7 In response to this and the above "incubate" statement, many of us with Art In The Market believe that the less government is involved in the Arts, the more we have artistic freedom.We ask for no special studios, low interest loans, incubation (whatever that is!) or a set aside arts district. Simple reasonable time, place and manner restrictions make sense, stressing the word reasonable as opposed to arbitrary and capricious rules that are designed to illegally restrict First Amendment activity.We can see here in St. Johns County a scramble among diverse arts groups with their 501 3c status, scrambling for the government dollar, your dollars.We ask for nothing more than our established First Amendment rights with clear sensible "rules".

Just Cause Yer Paranoid Doesn't Mean..........

Heading down to the Historic Section on Sunday, I was lucky to find a parking space in the municipal lot next to the Lightner Museum.I was waiting for another vehicle to leave so as to take their space when I noticed a city police car behind me. I also noticed that he raised a camera and snapped a picture of the rear of my van. I saw this because, though it was midday ,(2:40 PM) he used a flash (?!). I opened my door to get out. I wanted to know why the officer was snapping a photo of my vehicle. No time for this busy officer, he went around me and drove off..

Because of the artist's battle for rights here in St. Augustine, I have through the Freedom of Information Act.,obtained many photos taken of me by local law enforcement either in the open or surreptitiously.Some are not so flattering. In one of the police photos I am mid sentence talking with a friend, my mouth agape and my hair lookng like an explosion in a mattress factory.None of these photos were used in legal proceedings since all arrests and citations (12 of em) were vacated after Federal Judge Marcia Morales Howard issued an injunction in April of 2009 in favor of the artists.

Curious, I called the desk at City Police. Since I did not get the car # ,the dispatcher said that she had no way to know who was on Granada Street ten minutes before. I reminded her that this is not a big city and one radio call could get her the answer. I simply wanted to know why I was being photographed. Maybe there was a good reason. Perhaps another blue and white camper van with John Lennon license plates was involved in something nefarious.. "Maybe the officer liked the license plates and wanted a photo," said the dispatcher.(I am not kidding !)" My daughter would love one of those John Lennon license plates". I was wondering just how old this dispatcher was and thinking that I might be tagged as a "hippie troublemaker", you know....van....long hair.Let's do the time warp.

Realizing that I was getting nowhere I thanked the dispatcher for her time and dropped the inquiry. I truly believe that law enforcement should not be prohibited from using cameras It is an excellent tool for documentation. I cannot have an "expectation of privacy" when I am out in public.

To make it easier for the City of St. Augustine police, I have taken my own photo ( above ) which can be right clicked , printed and circulated to all of the police who are not familiar with the troublesome artist and his vehicle.

The Case of The Missing Cross

Public property religious art in St. Augustine, Fl ?

This is the Mojave Cross. Have you heard of it? It's been at the center of a U.S. Constitutional debate for the last 10 years. An April Supreme Court decision keeps the eight foot pipe cross on public property, at least until a lower court addresses some issues brought forth by our Supreme Court Justices. It is a conservative decision and it was close....five to four. This is seen as a win for those who wanted the cross to stay as it has since the late 30's.

A new twist,  ...Someone swiped the cross........ It's gone...... A National Park spokesman said that while there are no suspects, the thief could have been a scrap metal scavenger ...... HA.....The Desert Dispatch has since received a copy of an anonymous letter received by the Parks Department :

Here is what it said:

"1. The cross in question was not vandalized. It was simply moved. This was done lovingly and with great care.

2. The cross has been carefully preserved. It has not been destroyed as many have assumed.

3. I am a Veteran.

4. A small non-sectarian monument was brought to place at the site but technical difficulties prevented this from happening at the time the cross was moved to its new location.

5. The cross was erected illegally on public land in 1998 by a private individual named Henry Sandoz. Since then the government has actively worked to promote the continued existence of the cross, even as it excluded other monuments from differing religions. This favoritism and exclusion clearly violates the establishment clause of the US Constitution.

6. Anthony Kennedy desecrated and marginalized the memory and sacrifice of all those non-Christians that died in WWI when he wrote: 'Here one Latin cross in the desert evokes far more than religion. It evokes thousands of small crosses in foreign fields marking the graves of Americans who fell in battles — battles whose tragedies are compounded if the fallen are forgotten.' The irony and tragedy of that statement is unique.

7. Justice Kennedy’s words in particular and others like them from the other Justices caused me to act.

8. At the time of its removal there was nothing to identify the cross as a memorial of any kind, and the simple fact of the matter is that the only thing it represented was an oddly placed tribute to Christ. This cross evoked nothing of the sort that Justice Kennedy writes of, it was in the end simply a cross in the desert.

9. Discrimination in any form is intolerable, as is hatred.

10. Discrimination or hatred based upon religion should be despised by all Americans, and offering that this event was caused by hatred or malice is simply ignorance of the actual intent.

11. Despite what many people are saying, this act was definitively not anti-Christian. It was instead anti-discrimination. If this act was anti-Christian, the cross would not have been cared for so reverently. An anti-Christian response would have been to simply destroy the cross and leave the pieces in the desert.

12. We as a nation need to change the dialogue and stop pretending that this is about a war memorial. If it is a memorial, then we need to stop arguing about the cross and instead place a proper memorial on that site, one that respects Christians and non-Christians alike, and one that is actually recognizable as a war memorial.

13. If an appropriate and permanent non-sectarian memorial is placed at the site the cross will be immediately returned to Mr. Sandoz.

14. Alternatively, if a place can be found that memorializes the Christian Veterans of WWI that is not on public land the Cross will promptly be forwarded with care and reverence for installation at the private site.

15. In short, this has happened because as Abraham Lincoln said: 'To stand in silence when they should be protesting makes cowards out of men.' Perhaps this was an inappropriate form of protest if so I humbly request your forgiveness and understanding for the actions that I have taken here."

Be assured ,the Christian zealots will have a replacement cross up soon showing us all that this is a "Christian Nation" and you all better fall in line if you know what's good for you. Meanwhile some National Park employee is thinking " "Goddamn, I'm low man on the totem pole here....there gonna make me sit  in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere and watch that damn cross. I just know it."


Jesus must be turnin' in his grave.

A Religious Artwork?

 The late artist Frederick Hart's sculptural bas relief is featured in Washington, D.C. on the National Cathedral. Mounted in the tympanum above the center portal door of the cathedral is his monumental sculpture entitled Ex Nihilo (out of nothing)

A posthumous bronze casting of Ex Nihilo has been bestowed to the City of St. Augustine by local resident, Ms. Mardee Sue Jenrette. Ms. Jenrette is battling breast cancer and has been reflecting on the blessings she has enjoyed throughout her life and on the legacy she would like to leave behind.

On Monday, June 9th, 2008, the St. Augustine City Commission agreed to accept the gift aand it has since been installed in the City Hall courtyard in the Lightner building.

Is this a religious work? Since it was created for a Christian cathedral it may be considered that. Ex Nihilo may represent the theory of "creationism". The term is used in theological debate regarding the existence of man and the universe. This debate is wider than narrow religious dogmatic confines. We feel that it passes the test for non religious art on public lands. Some would disagree

Some feel that a 5 to 4 Supreme Court decision in April 2010 allowed government to place religious monuments upon public land. The decision actually allowed transfer of land to private owners if an existing monument was already in place. This decision is controversial. The result has been interesting, as the above post would indicate.

The Art Market -N.Y.C.

The troubled economy not withstanding, the rarefied world of International Fine Art Auctions is setting records for the prices paid. The press has covered the May 12 auction at Sotheby's in N.Y.C. reporting on Warhol's Self Portrait sold at $32.6 million dollars. The original estimate was $10 million. Dick Cavett, Fran Lebowitz and Peter Max were among the bidders (where do these people get their money?)The mural sized work above is referred to in most news reports as a "painting". The work is actually a silkscreen on canvas It is done from a photo mechanical stencil made from a photograph.Multiples can be made with the original screens. This was a purple on black work. There are four other versions in green yellow, blue and red.

This is an example of Art as a commodity. The unknown buyer ( non institutional as far as is known) may or may not exhibit the work but if history proves out, they will be assured a good profit if they choose to sell down the road. The designer Tom Ford purchased the work from a private gallery in 1998 netting probably 24 million dollars if we use the pre sale estimate as a guide.

Crazy...yes.....can we plebeian citizens begin to comprehend the money and capital owned by these kings and queens of society? Excess? I say yes. Not that I would condone it but this may give insight into those "nuts" who slash paintings in museums.

Damn The Constitution

                     

These recent snapshots above are of "city sanctioned" events that includes religious and political First Amendment activity. Visual artists are banned claiming that we block sidewalks and prevent entry and egress into the plaza. The city violates the ordinance repeatedly. No artist has ever blocked a sidewalk

Click pic to enlarge

The City of St. Augustine is moving to make a large part of  Old Town as "City proprietary property" meaning that the public no longer "owns" public space but that the City Hall owns this space, forgetting that they are simply the stewards of property "owned" by the public.

The main surface argument to ban visual artists has been to cite health and safety, claiming that the painters and art vendors (three of us at this time) block foot traffic preventing EMT's and police action. There had been problems when general merchandise vendors and street performers caused crowds and made excessive noise.(see photo above) Merchandise vendors and Street performers present a problem that does not exist with the art vendors. Federal Court decisions (Bery vs NYC) affirm that vendors of paintings, prints, photographs and sculptors have the right to display and sell on public property without the prior restraint of fees or licence. This decision stated that these artworks were "fully protected speech". General merchandise is not included in this as "protected". Street performers are limited in their rights by the sound and the crowds that they tend to produce. Since Street performers have less constitutional rights than does a visual artist the City has decided to label visual artists, "street performers".

 After a fee of $75.00 the city requires that a photograph be on file and worn on the artist's clothing along with the license.  The visual artist is to share space with merchandise vendors and musicians within the 60'x 20" Slave Market in the east part of the Plaza. Five spaces are allotted to First Amendment activity. These are illegal restrictions.

The city administrators simply turn a blind eye to well established case law that protects us. "They can't do that". We hear that all of the time. Can we arrest them? No. What we can do is go back into Federal Court and win again, costing taxpayers another $100, 000 +. This is in the works, meanwhile we are essentially out of work.

Vanity Galleries / Pay for Play

Pablo Picasso being polite

Call us street artists, street vendors, starving artists, whatever label you choose. A constant misunderstanding about us is that we are biding our time until a gallery discovers our talent and chooses to represent us.This is certainly not the case, especially in a city that is not NYC or LA. To be one of a dozen artists displayed in a "resort"gallery will not get you enough income to pay for your paints. Co-op galleries come and go , a sometime casualty of internal politics or the economy. The latest trend is to "rent" wall space to artists. In the big cities you can buy yourself an opening and a 30 day exhibit in the  low four figures. Here in town you can get wall space for as little as75 dollars a month. Now, by illegal ordinance the City of St. Augustine has created a 75 dollar a month vanity gallery with no walls within a 40'x10' spot in the Plaza. The refuse to explain the thousands of dollars they were forced to refund a few years ago because licensing was illegal.

Granted, running a gallery is a tough business and owners should be prepared to dedicate full time and more to getting traffic and closing sales. Too often I hear artists tell me that they have left their prints "on consignment" in a local gallery.This is in violation of the long standing rule that original artworks are.... consigned.... and published multiple prints are.... sold.... at wholesale to the gallery. The logic is that a manufactured print from a local artist is not treated differently as that from a national publisher. If a merchant had a choice of moving inventory, which one do you think would take precedence ...It would be the one that has an investment interest.

The few St. Augustine artists illegally banished to the small area in the Plaza's slave market are well aware that the more "eyes" on their artworks, the more people will end up owning one. "It's all about the money", says Mayor Joe Boles. He is correct. Without an audience and without sales there would be no artwork. If it was his intention to harm the artist's ability to sell, he has been successful. He has also prevented you from seeing our artwork.

The City of St. Augustine continues violating the spirit of our U.S.Constitution This is a "special" place in our country where the city administration feels that they do not have to abide by the same first amendment laws that are upheld throughout our nation. I hear the "Ghosts  of 1964" .It would serve them well to check the record of the self styled "Constitutional expert" hired to advise them.

We have our gallery. It is a small space on public property, not where you have banished us.....and you city administrators are interfering with the public's right to see our expression.

For Entertainment Purposes Only

Ironically, there was a recent City ordinance  that made it illegal to sell artwork in the Plaza de la Constitucion (this is still so) yet a tarot reader could do a reading for money.

One day fellow artist Richard Childs suggested doing a card reading in the Plaza since we were disallowed from letting people buy our artwork but could only display. I was not keen on this idea since I am a non believer. We had fun talking about it and the next day we double teamed an effort in securing our first client (there was no charge or fee). Richard would look for a likely prospect and catch their eye by holding up the ace of spades and staring at the person while waving them over.(note: women will tolerate a stare better than a male will). Richard, a 76 year old retired high school teacher had the air of shamanic authority about him. Female,18 to 60 Hispanic, stylishly dressed ..this was a general profile that of  Richard was seeking.

After catching the passersby's attention, Richard offered a card reading by Suvo (me) seated at a small table with two canvas chairs. Sometimes, like Edgar Cayce(The "Sleeping Prophet") ,I was taking a brief nap.Karl the Rotty was lounging next to me. We were "colorful".

After the client was seated, I spent the next few minutes explaining that this was for "entertainment purposes only" and just a fun thing to do with cards. That said, I would ask them very general questions about themselves asking them not to tell me details ( i.e.type of employment, married, kids etc.) The details were for the cards I said. The mechanics of the card draw and layout changed according to my whim. My remarks were based upon observations as to what type of clothing and ornamentation that they were wearing, who was with them( I would not permit listeners since this reading was private and the cards would probably talk about them) and the person's demeanor, etc.

Sample reading :

"The cards say that you have adolescent kids, at least one"........yes
"You need more creativity in your work to be fulfilled".......that's for sure
"According to the cards your son is going through a difficult transition (aren't all adolescents).........oh boy, uh huh.
"It will pass but you gotta be patient".......good
"Your parents are both alive?",....No,my dad died in 1998.
"You will have a different job in two years either with your current employer or a new one, possibly self employed. This is a thought that you have had?".........absolutely
"You do not have enough"me"time and tend to be a "giver"sometimes to a fault".......Boy.that's for sure.
"You have spiritual presences near you and it is the essence of your father and a grandmother"...........I knew it, absolutely, that would be Nana.
"At the end of this reading go into the Cathedral (whether Catholic or not) light a candle,sit in the front row and see  if you can feel the presence of Dad, Nana or both."....... (reporting back,they always felt a presence, even my Jewish client.)

More questions from the clients followed and the card's answers tended to be within the question. It was all done very pleasantly and the client left feeling better, especially when I told them that the card's results may or may not be so, depending upon their actions.

After  awhile I had about five regulars who came to me twice a month wanting a card reading and they usually brought a friend. Sometimes tears were shed and the client experienced a catharsis over some crisis. This was street psychology.

In April of 2009,Federal Judge Marcia Morales Howard ordered that the visual artists may sell their works on public property, I retired as a "card reader".

hello

If you've read the previous posts  you know that Karl the rottweiler has died of bone cancer at age 14. Karl was my constant companion during almost all of those years. The grief was real and there is a tangible pain that comes with his absence. Karl was my rock, my hero and I was the same to him. Not to anthropomorphize but my pet Karl had qualities that we would all admire......., a tolerance for all, a sense of calm in a the torrents of life and an appreciation of the simple pleasures. He is sorely missed and always will be.

We both embarked upon journey that started almost five years ago. A post midlife trip for both of us threw us into an unforseen battle with "the Establishment" (to use a sixties term). We didn't seek this fight and the intensity was unexpected. We were jailed (yes, Karl went to the pound and me to County jail) four times and eventually ended up vindicated in Federal Court. I learned that small town politics is the pettiest of all. Naiively I felt that when the facts are proven everyone will agree and proceed on. Not so in the real world, only in the world that I imagined.

It was such a pleasure creating my artworks and taking them out to the public and letting folks take them home to Pennsylvania or even Europe.The money was minimal and I priced everything to make it accessible.
Why else would I spend two years in the Walmart parking lot with Karl? I felt that I could not walk away from a fight that I did not start. I was told,"It's not worth the struggle","Move on". Four years ago the city prosecutor told me that they would fight this through appeals that I couldn't possibly afford financially. I have had a smear campaign accusing me of being a "homeless drunk" to being an ex con convicted of murder.I have experienced our own attorneys successfully winning in court (as we knew they would) collecting a hefty fee,only to abandon us when the court ruling was essentially ignored.The exception is our defense attorney who worked  pro bono to get us out of jail. We are all grateful to St. Augustine attorney Tom Cushman.

At this time the city has lived up to their threat of constant impediments to artists excercising constitutional rights as stated by Federal Courts.Our most ardent activist artists have moved to other more artist friendly communities.The three or four  artists left are removed from their audience corralled into a small space in the Slave Market wearing a photo identifying them as "street performers" paying for illegal permits watching the crowds avoid the area.It is doubtful that anyone will buy permits next month.

If you do not see street painters on your next visit to St. Augustine Florida, you now know why.

Meanwhile I find myself at the age 60 wishing that I had the last five years back.I just wanted people to see and buy my artwork.

Karls ashes are in the nations oldest park, the Plaza De La Costitucion, St. Augustine, Florida.