ACLU sues Fort Lauderdale on behalf of street artist

Self Portrait, John' Wang
The ACLU announced on July 28 that it's suing the city of Fort Lauderdale for what it called a "web of ordinances that create an elaborate scheme'' that make it "illegal for street artists to work and sell their artwork.''Story

So much misinformation supplied to the paper...here's an online comment that sums it up...............................................As I sat in the courtroom last week during Travous' "hearing" regarding selling American Flags in the Plaza over a year ago, I wondered what we were doing there. Asst. City Atty. Mendoza had filed a peculiar motion that didn't seem to make much sense. He was asking the judge basically, to rule as to whether the City could prosecute Mr. Travous for selling merchandise other than visual art in the Plaza. Judge Tinlin was perplexed as well, stating that in his "18 years on the bench, I've never seen a motion like this one." Now, as I listened to last nights meeting, I understand the purpose of that hearing. Mendoza and Brown "used" our court of law...and Judge Tinlin... so they could announce that the judge would not rule whether merchandise other than visual art could be sold in the Plaza... sneaky, underhanded and unethical, to say the least. That gave them the "out" they needed not to kick out all the vendors of merchandise and allow the chaos in the Plaza to continue... shame on this Commission! Those of you who are knowing participants...(Boles, Harris and perhaps Critchlow) and those of you who are gulible, unwitting pawns... Stand up! Stop the Madness! These men are outright lying to everyone and getting you to sign your names to their bad deeds. THE CITY COMMISSIONERS, CITY ATTORNEY RON BROWN, BILL HARRIS.... they all are aware that the City Police were instructed to go out into the City where vendors were selling in other areas, like at the parking garage and 50 feet off St. George Street and collect up those vendors and herd them into the Plaza, telling them it was a "free for all". Ask around, you'll see... this is the truth! THEY created the problem in the Plaza on May 12th, that day after Judge Howard's order, allowed it to brew to the point where it's hurting the downtown merchants, and now they're jumping to the rescue to REPAIR the problem... the problem created by them! Don't be fools! Open your eyes! Get rid of Ron Brown and his lackey Mendoza! Those same tactics worked to get rid of the musicians and they're being allowed to use them again! Merchants.... unite and get rid of these unethical politicians! Don't let them use you again.

Summer Storm St. Augustine Beach

Strange Comments

photo by Ortagus , copyright of paintings by Suvo ...............

photo removed at the request of the photographer .....................................This outta be good! ......Monday night at five pm,City Commission meeting. Watch City attorney Brown explain why we need a new ordinance for vending in the Plaza. Will at least Freeman ask why we need one and why are non protected flea marketers given consideration at all. He has "studied the ordinances in several other cities" So have we Ron, for years. We can expect you to present an inaccurate assessment just like the "all or nothing" ruling that doesn't exist.

The St.Augustine Record story on Thursday's hearing that freed Suvo .........kinda. Doesn't Judge Tinlin look like a 50's folk singer. One of the Limelighters or Peter or Paul, those guys with Mary.

KARL, ACRYLIC ON MASONITE BY E. MILLARD

Ex Wives Will Hate This Guy

Grazia Movie Trailer 2009
The local newspaper recently wrote about a movie to be shot on location here in St. Augustine. According to a press release the producers say that the film 'Grazia' "will rank among such superlative films as Casablanca , An Affair to Remember , Love Story , The Way We Were , and Ghost ". Hyperbole perhaps, but it's great to hear artists excited about their projects. .......................here is the trailer for 'Grazia'. Ok, we are going to say that it strikes us as a little creepy, that's all we're gonna say.Twice he refers to "my boys" and I think of....well, ....never mind..................... We think that the film Things That Hang From Trees filmed here in 2006 was an excellent strange and moody film that should be seen.

Sittin On The "Group W" Bench

That's not Suvo in the photo..he is not a reenactor and won't wear wool in JulyIt's 2 pm in the St. Johns County Florida courthouse. I am there as a defendant with my attorney Tom Cushman .At the table to the right is the county prosecutor, Carlos Mendoza. We are waiting for Judge Charles Tinlin to arrive. This is seriously cutting into my afternoon nap time.I can see that the open folder on the prosecutor's desk has 8'x 10' photos of American flags and a photo of a sign offering them for sale*. These were my flags and I made that sign and put it up in the Plaza de la Constitucion on Memorial day last year, 15 months ago. I am charged with the crime of 'offering for sale' on public property (the Plaza), U.S. flags. This was a demonstration of what I felt were clear first amendment rights. You'd think ,so wouldn't you. It landed me in jail.............................................In reality, I gave away the 11"x 14" flags ( referred to as flag "replicas" by city attorney Ron Brown) since the signs were indicative of my right to sell as the courts have previously ruled that a national flag is "protected speech"... and protected items may be sold to the public on public property without permit .RILEYv.NATIONAL FEDERATION OF BLIND ,487 U.S. 781 (1988) ...........Understand, that I'm not here as a flag enthusiast or super patriot.I was simply reacting to the draconian and outrageous conduct of the City of St. Augustine, arresting artists for exercising their free speech rights. This was a demonstration. .....................The upshot is that I'm not prepared with the time or resources to take this battle to higher courts......I would win this ,but as I told the judge......I am in the art business not the flag business...................The judge agreed to drop the two charges (also another for offering history, religion and philosophy books for sale) if Iagreed not to sell U.S. flags in the Plaza. You can, my neighbor can, but I cannot. ........Ok, I took the deal and was home in time to take my nap. If all the world is a stage, we are all in some kinda comedic saga that continues on and on....................... see link here Suvo * "Obie came in with the twenty seven eight-by-tencolour glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one and sat down."Alice's Restaurant By Arlo Guthrie

Dan Fagin ....Steely Dan

The internet is a wonderful thing isn't it.........(my keyboard has no question mark). Not only has my high school girlfriend contacted me on Facebook, but Stuart Slate posted part of a a great nostalgic Steely Dan concert that was held at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre on June 18. While the girlfriend came before Aja (we were more Tommy James and the Shondells or the Turtles) a sense of sweet nostalgia has washed over me recently because of these two events.It will take Fagin about a minute to get this song going. he noodles around kinda like Eustace on his steel dr.In the mornin you go gunnin,For the man who stole your water............And you fire till he is done in............But they catch you at the border.................And the mourners are all singin...............As they drag you by your feet.............But the hangman isnt hangin.................And they put you on the street..................................You go back jack do it again..................Wheel turnin round and round..................You go back jack do it again.......................When you know shes no high climber........................Then you find your only friend...............In a room with your two timer...........And youre sure you're near the end....................Then you love a little wild one..............And she brings you only sorrow..............All the time you know she's smilin...........You'll be on your knees tomorrow.................Dedicated to Dean Quigley

More Phoney Baloney

Heard On The Street "There is talk of the new Pirates of the Caribbean being to be filmed around St. Augustine starting this spring.''.......unsubstantiated...... here is a pre production teaser trailer.

Has the city made a deal and gone over to the Hollywood pirate's lure of gold . Is this a secret or is it just small town rumour........... don't know.

Million Dollar Art: Secret Sale Here In Town

"It seems so wrong on so many levels.It's a very special group of works that are very specific to the history of Florida. That they were sold without competitive bidding, to a private person instead of to another institution that would keep them in the public trust, and sold for a fifth of their value is outrageous." Timothy Eaton, former chief curator at the Boca Raton Museum of Art Story

Thoughts From A So Called "Homeless*" Artist

Suvo

St. Augustine, Florida the nation's oldest continually European occupied city is unique in so many respects that many times the differences are ignored. History aside, let's not forget that it is a "living city".The tag "City" is a bit misleading. With a population of 13,ooo, we can alternate the word "town"without using the arbitrary legal distinctions. St. Augustine always stood out historically here on the"First Coast"both economically and administrationwise. I hear the city fathers cite comparisons with Colonial Williamsburg Virginia, a 300 acre "open air museum" developed in 1927 with the help of the Rockefeller Foundation. Standard Oil monies ( Rockerfeller's and Flagler's)then became one of the common denominators between Williamsburg and St. Augustine. The differences between the two Colonial towns are striking in that the Colonial Williamsburg has always been on privately controlled property. Colonial Williamsburg can implement programs that just would not be workable in a "living city". The administration of City of St. Augustine seems sometimes to have an "inferiority complex" by looking toward other cities codes ( Key West in particular) for duplication. "Let's not reinvent the wheel", could be the slogan of this city manager and his rubber stamp commissioners.

We street vendor artists have been going through a difficult and sometimes daunting legal battle with the city over constitutional rights. It would certainly not be an issue if a modern day Henry Flagler simply purchased the town, or maybe this has happened and we didn't notice it. It would be naive to deny that in city governments there is usually a chummy relationship with the large property owners and employers. People play golf, socialize, share inside info...that's the way of the world. Have your water bills waived....take home a stapler....I don't care. Citizens get upset when no bid contracts are doled out without public disclosure. They resent it when police powers are used to stifle protected Constitutional rights. This is followed up with paying outside legal counsel almost 100,000 to lose a Federal court case to artists. This is not your money!

The solution to avoid these situations would be to "privatize" formerly public properties and services. Be aware readers, this is on the horizon. Our County Commission expects the St. John's Public Libraries to "pay for themselves". My dog and I were evicted from Beale Street in Memphis Tennessee because the Business Improvement District did not permit artists painting or dogs, even on a leash. Two uniformed (not police) twenty somethings escorted Karl and I one block over where the winos habituated.

I'm sure that here in St. Augustine are there are those already soliciting corporate donations for our 450th anniversary fandango. Certain benefits for the sponsor come with this. If we are not careful these benefits could lead to privatization. The corporate motive is rarely altruistic.

I'm of the view that certain parts of the social and governmental terrain should remain closed to market forces in order to protect them from the unpredictability and ruthlessness of the market (such as private prisons, basic health care, and basic education). Some of the utilities which government provides benefit society at large and are indirect and difficult to measure or unable to produce a profit, such as defense.

By the way city leaders,.........in Key West......Leasing out the wharf for "sunset celebration" is "privatization". This is perfectly legitimate for mercantile vendors........not for visual artists. They are in jeopardy of a civil rights trial brought by visual artists. This should not be your model.

A final note to the city.............Your agreement to make the injunction that the artists won permanent, is disingenuous if you create another ordinance that basically continues to violate our hard won rights. Also....stop waffling on paying our attorneys.....you lost.

*"My home is not a place, it is people."
Lois McMaster Bujold

Fake History

Questionable DeLeon Cross at the Fountain of Youth

Despite having little to no basis in truth, we here in St. Augustine still have remnants of "tourist stories"that have been repeated so often that they are accepted as fact. The stories persist because Americans love a good story, and when it comes to history, an exciting fabrication is sometimes just as good as the truth. As they say in the John Wayne movie The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, “When legend becomes fact, print the legend.”

The Fountain of Youth is a must see stop for hundreds of tourists a day. The story of Ponce de Leon's landing is told in a theater like setting with a huge creaky globe and 1950's projector technology. The coquina cross reportedly discovered by a worker for Louella Day, an enterprising woman at the turn of the 20th century, she began to charge an admission price to drink from the waters of the free flowing spring found on the property.

In 1954, Walter Frazier, the grandfather of the current operators went through a court battle with the publishers of the Saturday Evening Post. Frazer felt that he was libeled in an article that characterized him as "a faker, fabricator, and foister of frauds as genuine landmarks of historical interest." After withdrawing his complaint concerning his "facts" on the Fountain of Youth" ,he went on to challenge the magazine's characterization of the "oldest wooden schoolhouse" as a fake.

Curtis Publishing won on appeal in the Fifth Circuit Court. The Court let stand the article and Chief Justice Hutchinson wrote , "........there is no evidence to support his contention that it was ever used as a school before the Civil War, Fraser (meaning plaintiff) derives a comfortable income from the oldest wooden schoolhouse by charging tourists fifty cents- including the Federal Amusement Tax- to inspect the curios on display inside. * * * " Frazer lost and lost bad.

This case makes for interesting reading.

Dr. Kathleen Deegan of the University of Florida deals in facts as a scholar and archaeologist. Her studies of the Fountain of Youth property provides that the original Timucuan village of Seloy and the landing area for Menendez may have been here. This important information super cedes any unfounded claims of youth water or Ponce's arrival.

Another article (1921) by Charles Reynolds states "The visitor may be "ground through" the St. Francis street house( the oldest house). Fort Marion and the Ponce de Leon mission, imbibe the parrot lectures and go away with a head full of misinformation about a fanciful St. Augustine and its past. But there is another St. Augustine of which he will have learned little or nothing — the place of genuine historic interest and truly romantic associations."

In 2003 The National Trust for Historic Preservation completed an exhaustive study and wrote ......
"Travelers believe that they are hearing the truth..........sites are presented as heritage
attractions, but do not live up to standards of authenticity.Instead, they embellish stories, relying on myths to “improve”on the historical facts. This includes sites such as the Fountain
of Youth and Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse."

This last study wasn't very popular with the "powers that be" who derive their income from the family businesses established decades before. Nothing more was said about this report.

Guides for the "Ghost Tours" must take a two page test at City Hall to assure that they provide true and authentic history. We won't even make a comment on this.

We have a wealth of authentic history and to embellish with fake architecture and colorful but untrue stories only detracts and encourages the tag "Tourist Trap".

Piper and Paul

Piper Honigmann and Paul Vann Ness , artists who were with us a few years ago, are now off their boat, living and raising chickens in historic Tarboro, N.C. Come January 2010 they will welcome a baby girl to their family. Paul will probably invent something like a windpowered cradle that will also scatter feed for the poultry.

Gucci Trash

"I got a fifth amendment right to sell these purses in the Plaza" , Plaza vendor

We believe that this fake handbag seller meant the First Amendment rather than the fifth. Neither apply.

Those unsophisticated fashion slaves who purchase these items are beyond our understanding. Right smack in the heart of St. Augustine you can find this junk in the Plaza de la Constitucion. There is a brisk business. Unfortunately the boxes and paper debris are left behind, strewn in the general direction of the trash receptacle.

Last week in Newark. N.J. a ship was raided Today it is revealed that there is a culture of corruption in the neighboring city of Hoboken. Come down to the Plaza on weekends and tell the vendor that you don't support his activity. You will have to shoulder through the crowd of shoppers. Link

Plaza Vendors

Reporter Jessica Clark did a tv news story here. The 2 1/2 minute clip certainly cannot contain the backstory of the visual artist's legal battles with the city. The vendors interviewed and filmed are all new to us. How about the large propane tanks and gasoline generators that come with these people who want to express themselves with hot dogs and sno cones?

GRAPEFRUIT ?...GET OUT!

The recently preserved old Indian River Fruit stand sign on San Marco Avenue has been painted over. The current tenant is reported as a "die cast retailer" (Toys?). He supposedly was tired of people coming in asking for fruit. Hey!........Wake up Mr. Die Cast retailer! With the economy the way it is?! Be happy that you have people coming in the door. A missed opportunity !........You coulda sold em some fruit, man! Jeez! Ya had em right there!

I'm just a dog but .....damn! painting over that cool old sign?

Deadheads Amongst Us

We were sent this photo by Steffi who told us,
"This guy was at the Bob Weir and Ratdog concert just hangin' around. He kept sayin 'LET IT ALL HANG OUT!,GROOVY! and LAY SOME WACKY WEED ON ME SON! Somebody said that he was an important guy in St. Augustine. Do you know who he is?"

No, we don't Steffi but we can spot a narc when we see one.

Sherri Adriano

Tres Palmas, Fabric and acrylic on wood panel , 24" x 36", by Sherri Adriano

Art In The Market artist Sherri is a painter, mural maker, decorator and graphic designer. She is one of a the artists who does not do scenes of St. Augustine architecture. "Floridiana"would be a good description of Sherri's work. Her pieces generally have a lighthearted whimsical character that locals and tourists like. Come see her work in the Plaza de la Constitucion on weekends. More

The above piece would have not passed the cities list of "approved" art two years ago, since Sherri used fabric as a medium. The city administration felt that a painting should be made with paint and canvas. It took a court case and jail for an artist to demonstrate to the city that fully protected art as symbolic speech does not have to be within the confines of their limited definition. Link to Art Under Control

Who wouldn't be sweating in the 90 degree heat, but the guy in the soaked t shirt with "Tennessee" written across the chest didn't look accustomed to being outdoors. He probably spent a lot of time in an air conditioned building back in Nashville. He was a regular "salt of the earth" guy lugging a fairly large framed canvas print wrapped in clear plastic.

Nashville guy: "How do I get back to Highway 1 ?"

Bored Plaza artist: "Easy....gave directions. .........Hey, may I see your art?

He proudly holds up the Cao Yong print. "I just bought this down the street. What do you think?"

Bored Plaza artist: "It's interesting, there's sure lotsa stuff goin' on in that painting isn't there?"

Nashville guy: "Yeah. it's like eight paintings in one"

Bored Plaza artist: "Is that a giclee?" (trick question)

Nashville guy: "No. it's an artist's proof "(he loses)

Bored Plaza artist: "Thanks for showing it. Drive careful now."

This poor guy didn't know what he was getting into when he walked into the closing.....er...... "viewing" room at the gallery. The salesman knew he had him when he told the story of immigrant and recent citizen artist Cao Yong. When he turned down the dimmer switch and those stars and planets popped out as if back lit, the commission was already in the salesman's pocket. The frame upgrade was an easy sell (an extra 50 dollar commission) He only needed 15 % down and small monthly payments of 100 dollars. The clincher is "if you take it with you today instead of shipping it to Nashville we will pay the Florida sales tax". Bingo! The sound of a Velcro tm wallet opening is music to the "art consultant's" ears.

We are glad that the visitor from Nashville is happy with his Cao Yong print and hope that he will enjoy it for a lifetime because it has very little resale value. He just paid 1200 dollars for a reproductive print that is one of an edition of 6000.

Worst of all, he's got to explain this to his wife.